Fire Emblem: Behind pixels
by Knight of Yaru
Summary: When the shepherds found Moniya and Mykhail, they knew little of who they once were, and who they will be. Moniya's amnesia and Mykhail's secrecy weren't all that helpful either. (Retelling/Thanks for 3.000 views!)
1. Prologue Part 1

**Heh, so, as I kinda announced in another fic, here is my very own retelling of Fire Emblem: Awakening.** **And you might want to know that I'm not quite sure which pairings I'll use in this fic.**

** So...Your wishes might influence this story more than you might expect! Though, there's something I'd like you to know:**

**It's more likely that I'll use pairings which aren't SO popular. But this also depends on how much I like the pairing. XP**

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**Disclaimer:**** I own neither Fire Emblem nor any of it's characters! Yet, I do own the two OC-tacticians and their OC-mother.**

**Edit:****I also don't own the cover image!**_ http:\\\häsüyäwn._deviäntärt.cöm\ärt\Fire-Emblem-Äwäkening-Büttöns-ÜPDÄTED-369147919_

**Change: Ä-A; ä-a; Ö-O; ö-o; Ü-U; ü-u; /-\**

**Delete the spare spot before deviantart.**

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_**Prologue Part 1:**_

She sighed, looking outside the window. She knew that she wouldn't stay in the palace much longer. The whole act had been planned carefully, for about one year. If she succeeded, she would have to find a place where they could stay. If not…she would be thrown into prison and eventually executed.

That would be the night of nights. The night they would use to escape. She looked down at her sleeping daughter. _'I won't let these wicked people corrupt you and your brother any further…I won't let them sacrifice you to that monster.'_ She looked at the sky, determined, that she won't let her plan fail.

She then went to sleep, knowing that she would need it soon.

…**Later…**

When the warm light of the evening sun woke her up, she quickly took her daughter and went to the library, the place where the Grimleal were teaching her son about their "god", Grima. Or rather, tried to do so. She had told the boy that their teachings were nonsense. Told him, not to believe them. Yet, he should memorize what they said, and she told him thousands of times not to tell anyone.

She entered the library, aiming straight for the group of priests talking to her son. The woman quickly interrupted them. "You've taught him enough for today." The priests spun around, glaring daggers at her.

"We decide when he had learned enough, woman!" one of them said coldly. She was not impressed.

"But I still AM his mother," she exclaimed calmly. "And if my son doesn't get enough fresh air and movement, he'll get ill. And if that happens, you'll lose more time then when you just stop his lessons, leaving him some free time before he has to go to sleep." The priests gaped at her.

Suddenly, a young voice said, "But mama, I'm tired!"

"See?! That's exactly what I meant! You're too focused on teaching him! The amount of time he spends indoors will affect his health and he won't be able to do his part properly!" That convinced the Grimleal.

"Very well. Today's lesson is over."

The mother took her sons hand and headed outside. She then stopped and said, "Oh, and I'll be showing them the table. Tell the hierophant that we will return late." The priests nodded. They knew they couldn't complain. Most of all, because she was a trained tactician. She always found a way to get her will.

…**At the capital's outskirts…**

"Mama, what is this table you were speaking of?" the boy asked, adjusting his glasses.

The woman coldly looked into the distance. "…We're not going there, Mykhail. We're leaving." He gave her a confused look. "These people think that they can do with you and your sister whatever they want. I'm sick of it. I will not allow them to manipulate my children to follow their sadistic religion any further." She then took out a travelling bag filled with all necessities for travelling a long distance. The small group took off, heading for the nearest border to their neighboring country, Ylisse. It was Plegia's worst enemy, as Naga, the dragon worshipped in said country, was Grima's worst enemy.

…**Later in the night…**

It was cold. Nearly as cold as in Regna Ferox. The air was filled with pure silence as the two figures travelled through Plegia's merciless deserts.

Even though the two of them were used to the rough climate that was ruling the deserts of Plegia; the unbearable heat throughout the day, the gnawing coldness haunting the night; and were wrapped up in lots of cloth, still felt the bitter cold even in their bones. The fact that the two of them were walking for five hours nonstop wasn't really helping. The mother was even walking since sundown, alas since ten hours. Yet, they couldn't stop, as they had to reach the border of Ylisse. Hopefully, the exalt would let them in if they told him their story and, if necessary, gave him information that he could use against Plegia.

As the sun rose, the heat slowly returned. The temperature was rather comfortable, compared to the time around noon or the night.

"Mama, where are we going?" Mykhail asked his mother. She looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, dear. I don't know our final destination yet. For now, we'll be going to Ylisse." The boy's eyes widened.

"B-but will they let us in? Plegia and Ylisse always were enemies..." She gave him a warm, yet sad smile.

"We don't belong to Plegia anymore. We're travelers now. Abandoning our country and our religion, we'll surely get executed if they catch us. I'm a traitor, who kidnapped the vessel and tries to stop "fate" from happening. Why should the exalt send such a trustworthy informant to her sure death?" The boy nodded.

Finally, a village appeared behind a dune, not too far away from them.

…**inside the village, in the early afternoon…**

"So, you would pay me AND work as an escort for free, just so I would take you with me when I'm going to – eh there – and give you some of my food stock?" asked the red-haired merchant unbelievingly. Just how desperate did these people need to get out of this damned country?

As if she had heard the merchant's thoughts, the woman answered, "Don't worry." She then whispered, "Though we might have some problems with the government, I can assure you that our travel wouldn't endanger you." When she saw the merchant's skeptical expression, she added, "We have information for the exalt. Just imagine the reward you'd get for helping royalty…"

"Deal!" exclaimed the merchant happily, thinking of the money awaiting her. "Are you ready to leave? 'Cause I sure am!"

"Very well. Let's leave, then."

…**Weeks later, in Ylisse, after the meeting with the exalt…**

"So, where are you heading now, Anna?" asked the mother. The merchant looked up from counting her reward. She had got about 100.000 gold for helping the plegian family.

"Hmm… I don't know yet. Perhaps to Regna Ferox or the valmese continent…" answered Anna, thinking about her possibilities. "Why, would you like to come along?"

"The woman nodded. "I think the money we got from his highness should last for some time…" The merchant shook her head.

"I just earned more gold at once than I would ever earn in a year of work. If I take you along as guard, it will only be profitable. You're a much better fighter than I am."

"Thanks, Auntie Anna!" replied Mykhail happily. The green dressed merchant ruffled his extremely curly and rather messy brown hair.

"You're welcome, kid."

…**about two months later…**

The merchants at port Ferox curiously eyed the strange trio that just boarded the ship to the valmese continent alongside the famous merchant Anna.

The oldest of them was a woman, wearing an odd, black coat with purple markings on it, and it did hide her clothes underneath it.

Always next to her was a boy, apparently her son, never letting go of her hand. He also wore black and purple clothing, but his looked rather common. On his head sat a purple cap with dark brown locks underneath it. His hair was just like his mothers. Also, he wore a pair of glasses.

The last of them was a baby getting carried by the woman. It was wrapped up tight in blankets in order to protect it from the cold. All that could be noticed was that it had the same brown locks as the other two – and an odd marking was on the babies' right hand.

...

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**So...Tell me what you think about it and which pairings you'd like to see! And as a reward for you, dear readers, here is a cake! **

**And by the way, this other fic... It's called "Behind pixels: Paralogues" and is directly linked to this story (I also used a part of it's prologue/introduction in this prologue) ****And as it's title says, it focuses on the Paralogues of the game.**

**Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please no flaming!**


	2. Prologue Part 2 Premonition and Prologue

**Whee, here's the second part of the prologue. Funny thing about this prologue in two parts. I finished the second earlier.**

** Lord of Carrion: Thanks for the review! I'll see what I can do for your suggestions/wishes. As for your questions... Nr. 1 We'll see in this chapter... Nr. 2 Yes, it is. **

**Gunlord500: Okay, I actually wanted to tell you this since quite a while. About every single one of your reviews I read was helpful for me (even if it's not my story you reviewed). So I really wanted to thank you for that! Thank you!**

**And you're both getting a cupcake for the review (As everyone else would)****. *hands cupcakes***

**And thanks to the now two follows and one favorite this story already has! (Since readers can't find out your identity, I won't tell who you are. Privacy and such. But you know I'm talking about you and I'm very grateful for any messages of my readers!)**

**Ah, and by the way! Though I mentioned that I'd be more apt to use rarer pairings is this story, the pairs will also depend on my preferred ones. (The basics science behind me choosing my favourites: A mix of... How the hair colour fits the children, how the whole family fits together, tactical purposes and which character I prefer) **

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_**(Premonition: Invisible Ties/Prologue: The Verge of History) **_

_**Prologue Part 2:**_

As Moniya woke up, the first thing she saw was some indefinable brown…stuff. The brown-haired girl rubbed and then narrowed her eyes. Yet, she still couldn't make out what this was. Noticing something missing, she moved her right hand to, she assumed, a small table and took her big, round glasses. Placing them on her nose, she noticed that she was staring at…a wooden ceiling.

"Oh yeah…We stayed at that inn for the night, didn't we…?" muttered the girl as she literally rolled out of the bed. She then noticed that she was alone in the room. "Where's Myke…?" Walking over to the table in the middle of the room, Moniya noticed a small piece of paper on the desk.

_Mornin' princess. Went into town, buying resources. Will take it's time. CU in the evening._

_Myke_

She sighed as she looked outside the window. It already was noon. Thinking about how she could spend the time until the evening, while she dressed herself the young tactician decided to go for a walk.

**...Later that day…**

"Ahh, what a nice day…" the girl wearing a black and purple coat exclaimed as she walked towards the southtown. Moniya ran her hand through her curly hair as she inhaled the clean, fresh spring breeze. It was nice compared to the scent of the towns, as they weren't all that clean.

Knowing that she was alone, the girl did what her brother, and before him their mother, strictly forbid – she removed her gloves. Wondering what it meant, she stared at the purple mark on her hand. They never told her, they always said _"You mustn't show it to anyone. Don't talk about it, don't think about it."_

When her mother died a year ago, she lost hope that she'll ever find out. Mykhail always told her that she should be happy that she doesn't know. He said, knowing about it is a heavy burden for him, but that he will always protect her. Not only because it was their mother's last will, but also because he wished to do so.

All of a sudden, Moniya felt something drawing closer. She crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers digging into her coat. She felt like her blood froze in her veins while her muscles felt like burning. A dark energy surrounded her, closing more of the distance every passing second. Then, she noticed the weird light radiating from her mark and the dark force quickly entered her body._ "HELLO, MY DEAR VESSEL…"_ a voice echoed through her mind. She tensed, unable to breath, and got overwhelmed by pictures.

_A blue headed man offering her and her brother work; a peace-loving queen; a barbaric realm; a mad king; some marriages; an odd, creepy man; more marriages; a conqueror… And her best friend – the blue-haired – getting killed from no other than…herself._

A gasp exited her mouth as she felt a piercing pain in her heart, which slowly consumed her whole body. Her breath quickened, she was unable to even think about anything – not even the pain itself. Then suddenly, the pain stopped as fast as it appeared and she fell unconscious, not even feeling the compact of hitting the ground.

…

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…

"Hey, you there. Are you alright?" asked the blue-haired man. The one he asked, a hooded figure lying on the ground, didn't move. He frowned. A blonde girl rushed to his side. She turned the figure around and readied her staff, but the person, apparently a young, brown haired woman, was unharmed.

"Milord, milady, we should get going, we still have a job to do," a man in heavy armor stated; the blue-haired seemed lost in thoughts. They had a duty to fulfill; yet, they couldn't just leave this woman lying there.

"But Chrom, we have to do something!" yelled the girl, angry that the armored man even thought about leaving this person behind. The three of them didn't notice the woman's stirring.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" asked the blue headed, Chrom. She slowly blinked a little.

"I-I don't know…" The pair then noticed that the brown-haired looked at them with narrowed eyes.

"I see you're awake now…Is something wrong?"

"Do you, by chance, know where my glasses are?" The three where speechless, seemingly confused. But as the woman on the ground couldn't really see their faces, she didn't notice.

The blonde kneeled down as she apparently had found the rather unusual looking object. "Are this yours?" she asked. The brown-haired took them, slowly inspecting the frame with her fingers before placing them on her nose.

"Yes, thank you," she said with a warm smile. Chrom held out his hand and, after she took it, hoisted her up.

"There sure are better places to take a nap than on the ground." She smiled sheepishly. "Do you remember how you ended up here?"

Frowning, she answered, "…No. I'm sorry, Chrom. Wait–"

"So you know who I am?"

"N-no…" she muttered, looking at the ground, blushing, "It somehow…came to me…"

"…Weird. What's your name?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Though having good intentions, he just made the situation worse.

"I-I don't remember… Sorry, but… Where are we?"

"Hey, I think Miriel once said something about this! It's called amnesia!"

"That's called complete nonsense!" The brown-haired flinched as the armored man raised his voice. "She forgot her own name, yet she DOES remember Milord's name?"

"Frederick?" interrupted Chrom the man, "That's not really helpful. We should take her to the town. We can settle the things there."

"W-what?!" The woman panicked.

"Relax, friend. You can go as soon as it's sure that you're not an enemy of Ylisse," the blue-haired said. The dark-haired woman was confused once more.

"Ylisse? Is this where we are?"

"You've never heard of the halidom? Someone's got to pay that actress."

As Chrom was about to say something, the blonde interrupted. "Chrom! Is that smoke coming from the southtown?!"

The group quickly spun to face said town. "Gods! These damn brigands… Lissa, Frederick! Hurry!"

"What's with her, Milord?" asked Frederick.

"As long as she's not burning too, the villagers come first!" With that said, the three of them took off, leaving a flabbergasted amnesiac alone on a field.

"But what's about me…?" muttered the hooded tactician before following the group.

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**Meanwhile**

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The young man ran a hand through his messy hair. Bargaining with this merchant was impossible. She wouldn't sell him this book of battle tactics even the tiniest bit cheaper. It was a rare sight, but even regarding that, the price was outrageous.

"Lady, I could get this book in any bookstore for half of the price!" exclaimed the brown haired man, desperately trying to get the price down. But it didn't help.

"Yeah, but you would have to find a bookstore selling this book first, dear." He sighed and shoved his glasses up to his bridge.

'_Think of something, Myke… Here is this one book your mother wanted more than anything, yet, you can't afford it. There MUST be a way to get it…'_

"BANDITS!" The screaming of terrified villagers made Mykhail snap back into reality. As said brigands quickly surrounded him and the merchant, he drew his bronze sword, dispatching the one that attacked him, aiming for a mage nearby.

"Escape!" yelled the tactician after he had killed another two, and the merchant did as he said. He then took off, helping the villagers escape as much as possible.

…_**At the central plaza…**_

"Frederick, we need to get rid of them! We'll spread!" commanded Chrom, but he was getting interrupted even before the two men could draw their weapons.

"Wait!" The group was surprised, at least, when a certain, brown-haired amnesiac entered the plaza. "Regarding the amount of bandits, even though they're all in the central plaza now, this plan is anything but smart! You'll just get killed and that will definitely NOT help anyone!"

"You followed us? Why?" asked the blue-haired confused.

"I AM able to handle myself, thank you very much." She drew a bronze sword and opened her thunder tome. Both were previously hidden under her huge coat.

"You can use magic?!" the three of the yelled in unison.

"I think so. Perhaps I should give it a try," stated the woman, leaving the small group flabbergasted,

"G-give it a try…? Eh, perhaps we should take a few steps back…" Chrom said nervously. Then suddenly, a myrmidon appeared from behind one of the stalls, aiming for the tactician. She quickly reacted, chanting a thunder spell. Yet, she released the magic while slashing forward through her sword, killing the man with an electric-magic-blade-beam-thing, killing him instantly. The woman then collapsed, only stabilizing herself with her with the still slightly electric weapon.

"Are you alright?!" asked the blonde, Lissa, while getting her staff ready.

"Yeah, just exhausted…" she muttered, "Note to myself: Do NEVER do that again." The young woman now stood upright again and laughed to herself. "So…You wanna hear my plan?"

"If it won't get us killed, like you said OUR plan would-" started Frederick, getting interrupted by Chrom.

"Sure, why not?"

"So, from what I noticed, there are about two mages, barbarians and myrmidons left, beside their leader. While a myrmidon and both barbarians are rather close, one mage is near the bridge leading to the other one, the last myrmidon and their boss. What I would propose is that you two," she looked at the two men, "are going for the barbarian in the middle of these stalls. I'd take down the one at one side of the plaza, and I'd take her with me." She motioned to Lissa.

"And why should we trust you with Milady's safety?!" voiced the brown-haired grand knight. The tactician sighed. She had enough of this kind of behavior.

"Well, first, because she's actually acting nice towards me, unlike you. Second, because it would be rather bad for me too if the only person who could heal others would die. And, last but not least, because it is my job as a tactician to keep the ones following my orders alive. I DO understand that you don't trust me, yet I believe the safety of these civilians comes first."

"She's right, Frederick. And I think if she is an enemy, that myrmidon wouldn't have attacked her, as well as she wouldn't just kill one of her allies," said Chrom.

"And I can take care of myself, too!" exclaimed Lissa.

"Very well. If you command to follow her plan, I can't refuse."

"So, about my plan…" The tactician continued explaining her plan, and then, the group took off, executing it as ordered.

As the small group gathered near the bridge, the only enemies left were a mage, a myrmidon and the leader. Leaving Lissa in the safety of the cleared area, the other three took off. While Chrom aimed for the leader, the other two took care of his minions. But something didn't go out as planned.

When Chrom attacked the brigand, he managed to dodge, swinging his hand axe and slightly hitting the blue-haired's sword arm. He them swung it again, yet this time, Chrom parried, but as his arm was hurt, that turned out to be rather difficult. Then suddenly, a gasp exited the bandit's mouth as the pressure against the blue head's sword disappeared. The leader then fell, revealing a hooded figure standing behind him. That person carried a bronze sword, as the tactician did, and wore clothing similar to hers.

"Are you alright?" asked the figure, a man about Chrom's age, as he sheathed his sword again. Chrom nodded.

"Yeah." The two then heard steps coming closer. They turned around to see the other three coming closer. The unknown man froze as he noticed the tactician.

"What are you doing here?!" he asked rushing towards her, "Are you hurt?" She shook her head, definitely confused. This man seemed to know her, yet, she couldn't remember him.

"Do you know her?" asked Chrom.

"Yes… Why…?" The man had a bad feeling about this.

"Because we found her unconscious, lying in a field, and with no memories." He froze. She had forgotten him. Yet then, he could hear her mumbling.

"M… Mykhail?" Everyone spun around to look at the young woman. The man smiled, sliding down his hood to reveal his face and his stubborn, messy, curly, brown hair.

"…Yeah, that's me." He adjusted his rather casual looking glasses, adding, "Your brother." He turned to face the trio accompanying his sister. "Thanks for looking after her."

"It was more like she was looking after us than the other way round," admitted Chrom, smiling. "But thanks for helping us either way. Do you live here?"

"…No. Moniya and me, we're travellers," answered Mykhail, revealing the tactician's name.

"Well, we, the shepherds, could always need some help."

"Shepherds? As in, tending sheep?"

"Well, literally speaking. But we actually protect the inhabitants of Ylisse."

"Hmm… okay. That's fine with us, right?" Mykhail looked at Moniya, who nodded.

"Alright then!" said Chrom, starting to introduce his group, "I'm Chrom, the leader of the shepherds. But just call me Chrom. I'm not really a friend of these formalities." The siblings nodded and the blue-haired motioned to the blonde cleric, "The delicate one is MY sister, Lissa." He then got interrupted.

"I am NOT delicate! Idiot!" Moniya chuckled rather quietly, so that only Mykhail could hear. "If you want, you can ignore my brother. He tends to be an idiot at times."

"And he," Chrom closed his introduction, "Is Frederick, the wary."

"A title I wear with honor. I do not mean to be rude, but you two still are suspicious." He glanced at Moniya. Redirecting his attention to Mykhail, he added, "But since you saved Milord, I owe you the favor to ignore that for time being."

"Good to know. Well, I'm Mykhail and she is my sister Moniya. We both are travellers and tacticians in training."

As Frederick, Chrom and Mykhail discussed formal things, Lissa told Moniya about the shepherds.

"So the other members of the shepherds are my best friend Maribelle, Sully, Stahl, Vaike, Sumia, Miriel, Ricken and… I think I forgot someone…" said the blonde cleric, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, if you remember who you forgot, just tell me!" The two then were approached by a redhead, wearing green merchant clothing, carrying a rather fancy looking book.

"Do you, per chance, know this man?" asked the merchant, motioning to Mykhail. The girls nodded. "Good… He…left that book earlier at my stall. I wanted to return it to him. Just…tell him that it's from Anna, he should understand." With that, the merchant, apparently called Anna, took off.

When Moniya handed the book to her brother, he certainly did NOT understand. But that beside, Mykhail now got that book he couldn't afford earlier, and with the formalities settled, the group took off, heading for Ylisse's capital, Ylisstol.

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**Just who did Lissa forget...? Meh, sorry Kellam, but you know you're invisible most of the time. Be happy that I made Lissa remember that there is someone else she forgot.**

**Anyway, about the fact that Anna appeared twice already: I'll use the Anna-Clan (as I like to call them) more often than they were used in the game. It's really helpful at times.**

**So, thanks for reading and perhaps reviewing and all that stuff!**


	3. Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change

**Oh my god, this chapter took so long! As usual, I'll blame 1. school, 2. my laziness and 3. a temporary writers block. **

**Also... Moniya is getting a vegetarian in this chapter (thanks to her brother). **

**And I came up with some more OCs for this story, by the way. But they will appear later. A LOT LATER. **

**Something else. I'm accepting pairing suggestions/requests for EVERYONE. So not only the Avatars.**

**And probably the most important fact about this story. Don't get confused by it. This story will have three kinds of chapters. Plot chapters (Chapter [Number]: [Chapter's name]), Paralogue chapters (Paralogue [Number]: [Paralogue's Name] and Chapters in Between (CiB [Number]). The CiB's will contain some relationship stuff such as Supports, most of the romance, and so on...**

**With that said, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

**I said enjoy, so start reading it!**

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_**Chapter 1: Unwelcome change**_

"I told you that it will get dark soon, didn't I?!" Lissa seemed annoyed while Moniya clung on her arm, desperately waving her right arm around.

"Why do so many bugs have to come out at night…?"

"Yeah…They're gross and noisy and disgusting and trying to-" Lissa suddenly spit something on the ground. "Now they're even flying into my mouth! Eww…"

Mykhail chuckled a little. "Well, I dunno about you, but I sure am hungry!"

The girls stared at him in disbelieve. He only thought about food while they stood there in agony caused by these horrid bugs! Just how could he?!

"True, we should gather some food and wood for a campfire. Even the best soldier needs to eat and rest."

"Do you want to help me gather some firewood, Lissa?"

"…Maybe… If I can burn Frederick!" She did NOT seem very amused. The group then parted for setting up their camp, gathering food and firewood.

…**Later…**

"Mm, it has been a while since the last time since I last ate bear! …Huh, why aren't you eating anything, Lissa?" Said person seemed rather disgusted.

"Gods, can't you get us something just once?! I mean who would like to eat bear?! …You're messing with the food chain too much!"

"Well, I think it's rather tasty." Mykhail's statement did only please Chrom. Even Frederick didn't seem to like the thought of eating bear.

"…Seriously, Myke? Ugh…" Moniya frowned.

"Come on you two, it's meat like any other kind of it." Lissa looked at her brother, obviously not pleased and really disgusted, while the brown haired girl beside her looked a little like she was resisting the urge to vomit.

"Meat shouldn't taste like the soles of a century old shoes!"

"Lissa, this stuff tastes even worse! I'd rather never eat meat again that to even touch that!"

"Heh, you know you wouldn't be able to do so for more than one week, kid. If you'd even manage THAT." The younger tactician fumed.

"Oh, yeah?! Well, challenge accepted!"

"We'll see, kid. We'll see."

After that, Mykhail and Chrom continued eating their bear meat, the girls ate some berries they found previously and Frederick claimed that he had eaten already while coming back from hunting.

…**during the night…**

"…Huh? What's that?" Chrom muttered during his guard shift as he felt a weird presence. He silently got up, not wanting to wake anyone up. Unfortunately, he didn't manage that.

"*yawn* Chrom, what's wrong?" Lissa eyed her brother who was looking into the forest. He seemed worried.

"I don't know… But I think there is something around… I'm not sure though." The young cleric now got nervous.

"What do you mean with 'something'?"

"I don't really know what this is, I just have… a really weird feeling. …I'll go take a look."

"Don't you think I'll just let you go alone!" she silently exclaimed as she got herself up.

"Hah, thanks Lissa!"

…**a little further in the woods…**

"Something's wrong…"

"Yeah, it's completely silent. Even these icky bugs are gone…" Lissa wasn't really relieved about the lack of said 'disgusting nuisance'.

Suddenly, there was a deafening noise and the ground started shaking rapidly.

"Ahh! CHROM!"

"What the–!"

…**Meanwhile…**

"What the hell?!"

"An earthquake? But how? …Milord, Milady! Where are they?!"

"We have to find them before something happens!" Then suddenly, a part of the ground got pushed in the air by the masses of lava flowing out. "…Dear Gods…"

"What in Naga's name is this supposed to mean?!"

"What's up…?" Moniya still was half asleep, to the men's surprise. As she then noticed the cataclysm, she instantly jolted awake. "What the–"

"Now that you're finally awake after not noticing a damn EARTHQUAKE, could we now go looking for Chrom and Lissa?!"

"Good idea, yet we have no idea where Milord and Milady are."

The woman pointed in the air. "I'd say, let's look near that weird, glowing, eyelike thing. Wouldn't it be likely that they'd go there, too?" The men nodded.

As the group took off, Mykhail asked Frederick, "Is such stuff happening often?!"

"Definitely not."_**  
**_

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"Milord! Milady!"

"Guys! You're here!"

"Are these… things… common in Ylisse?" Moniya looked at the unidentifiable creatures that had just appeared out of nowhere.

"No. Definitely not," Chrom answered.

"Then let's get rid of them, eh? But honestly, I'm glad you're alright."

"Yeah! If the man with the mask hadn't shown up, I don't… Where is he?" Lissa retorted after Mykhail's statement.

"We can thank him later. For now I believe there is something more important, like keeping these creatures off the capitol."

"Moniya, I need your help. You guys wait a second." Mykhail then whispered, "Do me a favor. Focus your sights on the enemies." Moniya nodded, doing as her brother asked, while he took out his new book and recited the chants. Suddenly…

"W-What is this, Myke?" The younger tactician looked at him, frightened, her dark brown eyes now of an ember color. Mykhail quickly finished his chant, summoning a map of the area containing every little detail of their surroundings; the shepherds' localization, their enemies, old forts, forests…

"Look at the enemies and tell me what you see."

"…Two mercenaries, about as fast as the two of us and Frederick, high skill, rather good defense, iron swords, could kill everyone beside Frederick with two hits and would attack Chrom and Lissa twice; three fighters, speed like Chrom, pretty strong but bad skill, defense and resistance, two with iron axes, one with a hammer, this one's very dangerous for Frederick, could kill him instantly; an archer, speed like the fighters, but weaker, slightly stronger defense, obviously good hit rates."

"Good. Anything else?" She nodded, pointing at the one in the bottom left corner of the map.

"Mhm. Back there, this is their boss. A fighter, too. Stronger, slightly faster and takes three hits of Frederick to be taken down, short axe. Now what is this about?"

"I'll tell you afterwards. It'll stop right after battle." She nodded. "Okay, now here's the plan!" The others came closer as he showed them the map. "Over here, there are a mercenary, a fighter and an archer. Frederick, Chrom, I want you two to take them down, but be careful. You don't wanna mess around with the mercenary, he's really dangerous. Mona and me, we're going downwards. There are two fighters and a mercenary. Lissa, you stay behind where it's save. It wouldn't do if we use you. Is everything clear?" The group nodded. "Okay, then… Let's teach these guys a good lesson, eh?"

Executing Mykhail's tactic, the group then took off.

**…**

"Huaa!"

Moniya barely managed to dodge the mercenary's attack by making him stab her tome instead of her chest. When he threw it off his weapon by readying it for anther strike, she swiftly killed him, slicing his chest. _***I beg the gods of thunder to grant me a part of their power, so that it shall help me to protect my very life in their favor.***_ She felt energy flowing through her body as she turned towards her brother, who was getting attacked by the two fighters. _***Bless me with the power of the magic thunder to bring retribution.***_ She raised her arm aiming at the one who just distanced himself from her brother. "Thunder!" The bolt hit the already harmed fighter spot on, killing him instantly while Mykhail killed the other one with his sword.

"Alright." The man looked towards the other group fighting off these monsters. He then looked towards the boss and froze. He was going straight for them, while the two of them couldn't stand a chance against him. "Quick! To Lissa!" The two took off but were interrupted.

"Move and I'll kill ya!" A red haired cavalier rode out of the forest. "You're not gonna harm the captain's sister, dastards!"

"If you don't let us go, this guy with the short axe will kill us all! This isn't an enemy you can kill easily. Now you eith-"

"Wait, oh fair and beauteous maiden!" A man in extravagant clothing rushed after her. "Life is short and beauty like yours is rare. Why won't the lovely lady stay out of harm's way and let the noble Virion fight instead?"

"Huh?" While the cavalier was distracted, the siblings took off, having noticed that that the second mercenary slipped past Chrom and Frederick and was now aiming for Lissa. The younger one, sprinting, reached the cleric just in time so that she could dodge the attack, but getting slashed on her arm in progress.

"Moniya!" Mykhail and Lissa shouted in unison as said person backed away from the mercenary, dodging another strike but tripping over a root and falling backwards. He then rose his sword in a way he could easily pierce her chest but when he was about to strike, Mykhail appeared in front of her, swiftly dodging the attack. While the two fought, Lissa rushed to Moniya's side, healing her arm. The younger tactician then focused on the enemy, but as she was about to use her magic on the mercenary, the cavalier interfered, stabbing through his chest with her lance.

"You really have some guts, leaving me with that douche. Good for ya that we're on the same side, eh?"

"Wait, oh ravishing beauty! I, Virion, the archest of archers, can't help but to aid the gorgeous lady in battle if she refuses to stay out of harm's way."

"Sully, watch out!" At Lissa's yell the cavalier, Sully, barely managed to avoid the boss' short axe.

"Get away from him! Moniya, stay with Lissa and use your magic to attack him. Virion? You're doing the same. And Sully? We're in close combat. But watch out so you won't get hit."

The fighter was much stronger and tougher than the other enemies and suddenly, he managed to hit Mykhail's shoulder. When the man backed away from the creature, they heard a sound.

"Pick a god and pray!" Right on clue, a silver lance pierced through the fighter's chest, which instantly went up in smoke. With all the enemies dispatched, Lissa rushed to Mykhail, healing his wounds.

"Thanks Frederick, I owe you one."

"So, this was the last of these monsters, thanks to the young man." Said man stood near the group, wearing a marine blue tunic with a dark blue, long sleeved shirt underneath and equally colored trousers. The man also wore a blue and red cape, marine blue boots ending slightly above his knees, shoulder plates, a butterfly-ish mask and a tiara-like head band. Regarding his attire and rather slender built, Moniya couldn't help but doubt that this was a man.

"Yeah. I don't think this would have ended this good without the additional help, eh?"

"I never got a chance to thank you for saving me, so… Thank you. That was very brave."

"My name is Chrom and these are some of the shepherds. May I ask yours?"

The (fe-)male was silent for a moment. "You may call me Marth."

"Marth? Like the hero-king Marth?"

'_Now that proves me wrong.'_

"Well, you certainly fought like a hero. Who taught you swordsmanship?"

Marth frowned. "I'm… not here to talk about myself, sir. …This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity and what you saw today was just a prelude. You have been warned." With that said, he walked off.

"Wait, what?!"

"He sure isn't one for talking, eh?"

"It appears his skills lie elsewhere, as he could handle four of them alone. I wager we'll hear his name again." The tactician resisted the urge to tell Frederick that these were Fighters, and weaker than the other ones.

"Anyway, let's get back to the capitol. It's already dawn."

Everyone agreed and the group of now seven took off, the tacticians getting introduced, as well as Virion who wanted to join to stay around Sully.

Little did the shepherds know of what will happen with these two tactical geniuses on board.

* * *

**So, what do you think? If there's something you don't understand, just ask me, I'll gladly answer your questions. And here, you're getting an e-cake. I would be really happy if you guys could leave a review, to tell me what I could improve and what was good.**

**To tell the truth, if I wouldn't have got at least one review on every chapter until now, I would feel as if I'd suck as a writer. T.T**

****In case you didn't notice, the stuff Moniya said written bold letters between these * was actually supposed to be the translation of the chant into the old language of FE9 and 10. As I don't speak Japanese, I can't directly translate it. Therefore, I'll write the old language like this. And out of the shepherds and their enemies, Moniya will be the only one to understand it.****

**Thanks for all the reviews until now. Here some more sweets for your support!**


	4. Chapter in Between 1 (part 1)

**Back again!**

**So, because I really wanted to update this story and finishing all of these short stories would have taken an awful lot of time, I divided the chapter into smaller parts and post the first one now. I know this is short and maybe not very exiting, but still. You're getting some stuff which isn't part of the game, so be happy. And if you have any ideas for other short stories like these... tell me. I really don't have any ideas. **

* * *

_**Chapter in Between 1: Not the only one (part 1)**_

_**1.**_

"Hnng…" The young man stirred under his sheets, his whole body feeling sore.

He coughed. His throat was sore too and his lungs were aching.

As he opened his eyes, he realized he should better keep them shut. Otherwise, they would start hurting too and his vision was too blurry to see anything. He ran a hand through his hair and noticed something. Beside the fact that it was way too messy for his liking, there was something like… sand or salt. The man slightly opened his eyes and tried to inspect whatever this was. It was indeed regular salt.

"But how…?" His voice sounded hoarse.

Thinking it was time to figure out a few things, he slowly stood up from the bed he was lying in. He was in a one person room in… an inn? It looked like the rooms in inns, but he wasn't entirely sure. As he noticed a scale with water on a table, he took some of it, washing his face and fixing the mess his hair was.

Now being able to see clearly again and without his eyes hurting, he was sure that he was in an inn. But what had happened? All he could remember was that "Marth" had performed the ritual and the portal they went through to save this world from a catastrophe. But what happened then? How did he end up here? He couldn't remember.

"So you're awake, huh?" A deep voice made him snatch out of his thoughts. He backed away from the man standing at the door only to become so dizzy that he had to lean against the wall to prevent himself from falling. "He, watch out, boy!" The blue haired man placed a tray with food and water on the table. "You've been out cold for nearly a week. It's not surprising that you're getting dizzy." The younger man sat down on the bed again, having a terrible headache.

"…What happened…?"

"As I was travelling – searching for a good training ground – I took a ship to get to the island were currently on. Near the shore, they fished you out of the water."

"Oh, gods…" He started coughing, but that didn't stop his face from turning completely red in embarrassment.

"Calm down, boy. You should first eat and drink something and get some rest. You need to recover at first."

…**a few days later…**

"So, what will you do when we reached Valm, boy?"

"Not sure. I have to find some of my friends, but I don't know where they are… And I need to find my parents, too…"

Placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder, the blue haired man said, "You still have time to think about how to do that, that ship travel will take it's time."

* * *

_**2.**_

"Achou!" The woman coughed, she was definitely not used to the cold. Her armor wasn't that helpful either, as steel loses heat very fast. Not that she knew that, but even if she did, she wouldn't care. She had to find the others as soon as possible. So the heavily armored woman continued her way through the masses of snow in the north of Ferox.

As she slowly reached a warmer place (emphasis on the **er**, as there is no warm place in Ferox), she could feel the exhaustion in her whole body, before she eventually collapsed.

…

"But Eric, we can't leave her like this! There must be something else we can do!" The woman slowly regained consciousness as warmth returned to her much lighter body.

"I'm sorry dear, but you know if there was anything we could do for her, I'd do it." She slowly opened her eyes to see another woman talking to a man. As she noticed that parts of her armor were missing, she jolted awake.

"What is this supposed to be?! And where is my armor?!" The pair turned to look at the young woman who had just spoken.

"We found you lying unconscious in the snow. You probably would've died from exposure if we had left you there." He eyed the girl. "It would be better if you stay and rest for a while. At least until we're sure you'll be fine."

"What?! What's that supposed to mean?! I survived dangers YOU can't even imagine! I'm more than capable of keeping myself alive!" The young woman was fuming. How could they think SHE needed help after everything she went through?

The man sighed. "How about this? If you're capable of keeping yourself, then you'll have no problem with beating me in a duel. The first to hit their opponent wins. If you win, I won't stop you from leaving. But if I win, you'll have to stay for at least a week longer."

"Okay. Prepare to get beaten."

…**at the training ground…**

The young woman, now in full armor again, and the man, Eric, stood in the middle of the room, facing each other. She had a training lance in her right hand, while Eric used a wooden sword. Lunging for him, she thrusted her lance towards him, but the man easily dodged and slammed the hilt of his sword at a weak spot of her armor, making her fall due to the impact.

"Hnng… How did you do that?! Nobody else was able to hit me!" The man eyed her curiously.

"Then these people need some training. You're fighting style leaves lots of openings in your defense, which makes it fairly easy to hit you. And this means you'll stay."

"…Train me!"

"Huh?"

"If I'm beaten that easily, then I won't be of any use for the others! You HAVE to train me!" The girl stared at him, dead serious.

"Do I now…? But don't worry, I'll do you that favor."


	5. Chapter in Between 1 (part 2)

**So here we go! Part 2 of this chapter!**

**Yeesh. This was intense. But at least there's only one more part. Also, I already started writing chapter 2.  
As this part is about the rest of the girl, I'll finish it with the rest of the guys in part 3. Could take some time though, as I still need some ideas for them...**

**Also, there are some characters people might recognize... Like the guy from the first chapter.  
Who remembered/recognized him...?**

**And no, I'm not talking about the featured character. But remember the woman from 4. We might see her again...**

**Maybe.**

* * *

_**Chapter in Between 1: Not the only one (part 2)**_

_**3.**_

"You get outta here! I can handle myself! Geez…" Blocking the only escape route, the young mercenary fought off the bandits attacking the village, buying the villagers time to flee.

"But–"

"No buts! Do you really want to die here and leave your wife behind?! Gawds!"

"Alright. But promise you'll be careful!"

"Oh, alright…" Dodging an incoming axe and killing the enemy, she watched the man flee as she felt something weird in her chest.

…

"Ugh… What? Where am I?" Waking up from unconsciousness, the girl was lying in an unfamiliar bed.

"Oh thank the gods! You're okay!" A woman rushed to the girl's side visibly relieved.

"Oh, you…"

"Didn't I tell you to watch out?" Her head snapped around to face the man she helped escaping during the attack. "Even if you saved our lives, I think you should rather focus on finding your family than throwing your life away!"

"Pah, fine! I won't help you next time!" As she was about to stand up, they got her back onto the bed. "What now?!"

"Young lady, what did I just say? You nearly killed yourself in that battle! You're going to stay here until you're better and you won't leave this house until then!"

"GAWDS! FINE!"

"Thanks."

* * *

_**4.**_

"Look!"

"What is that?!"

The girl lying in the grass stirred. "What's going on…?"

"Who are you and how did you get here?!", a female voice asked. The girl stood up, only to be greeted by the tip of the other female's sword. The young blonde woman, a myrmidon, gave her a stern look. Behind her stood a boy – mage – with greenish blonde hair.

"I am hero send to save this world and if you want to stop me, you'll meet my lance!" While pulling out said steel lance, her steed, a Pegasus, came to her side, and she quickly mounted it.

"Oh? And why does this world need to be saved?" The three spun to see a woman in a beige dress coming closer. Her waist long, dark brown braid swayed like her purple cloak as she approached the young Pegasus knight, her dark brown eyes mustering her. "How did you get here, young lady?", she asked with a soft voice.

"Eh, I don't know… We walked through a portal and then…I woke up here." The Pegasus knight looked downwards, embarrassed.

"What portal are you talking about?!" The myrmidons blue eyes glared at her.

"Selene, please." The woman quickly silenced her. "I have a feeling that we'll find out when the time is ripe. But… you said "We walked through the portal". Were there others than just you?"

"Yeah, Lucy and the others. We were 12 in total."

"I see… Do you know what happened to them?" She shook her head. "Hm, hm… Let's hope they're fine."

"They'll be alright. I know they are capable of defending themselves!"

"Good. But I don't believe that your Pegasus can take you to the coast. We're on an island, you know? I need to get some stuff from the merchants in a village on-shore. I could take you along so you could find your friends. What do you say? Want to come along?"

"Yeah! Thanks!"

* * *

_**5.**_

"Oh seriously… Why did I have to end up in this dark forest…?"  
Strolling through the depths of a dark forest, her braids falling around her face, the small struggled to get through the thicket. As she tripped over a root, her head slammed against a tree, making her fall unconscious.

"_Thanks for your help, dear!" An old woman smiled at the small girl which had just helped her get her just bought goods home._

"_No need for thanks. It's not a big deal." Patting her head, the old woman took out some candy which she gave the girl. Blushing, she gladly accepted._

Clutching her head, she pulled herself up, her long, pointy ears brushing against some lower branches. Looking around, she noticed that it already was after nightfall.

…

After looking for some edibles and collecting firewood, the girl made up a little camp and quickly fell asleep.

"_Ahh! Risen!"  
Their village being attacked, the villagers tried to avoid the attacker and escape suddenly a dragon appeared, breathing white, icelike flames at the monsters. Dodging arrows and some Pegasus Knights, it took out more of its enemies, which quickly vanished into thin air. The dragon then roared, shaking the very earth and making the ground units fall and only the few flying units left were unaffected. Using this to its advantage, the wyrm breathed fire again, killing nearly all of them. Rising into the sky, it roared again and, as one of the Pegasi came closer, threw its rider off its back using the white flames. When it noticed there were no more enemies left, the dragon sunk to the earth and instantly got enveloped in a bright rose flower bud, which revealed it to be a the young girl after the petals scattered._

"_Y-you…?!" She turned to face the major of the village, obviously shocked. His face then became cold and serious. "You should leave. Right now. We can't risk a dragon going berserk in our village. Even if you won't, people will be afraid."_

Jolting up from her nightmare, the girl noticed her surroundings being a little brighter, deducing that it's already dawn. Putting out the fire, she went on, searching for the forest's border.  
Her surroundings darkened, and, she could see through the crowns of the trees, the young girl noticed the sky being completely covered in clouds. Then, as thunder started roaring and rain pouring, she broke into a run, searching for cover.

After reaching the border, she soon saw a huge mansion, seemingly abandoned. Quickly, she aimed for it, wanting to find shelter inside.

* * *

_**6.**_

"_So cold…"_

In the middle of a snowy field, lying on the ground, barely conscious, there was a young woman. Slowly returning to life, the green clothed archer rose from the ground, shivering. "W-where…? Is this… Ferox?" Sneezing, she looked around, searching for anything hinting civilization.  
After some time, she found some tracks in the snow, which lead her to some small village.  
Walking the streets, she looked through her purse, checking the amount of money she got. She then walked into one of the shops, buying a warm coat, some water and food, a bow and a small knife. She then went into a small inn to stay for the night.

…_**Some weeks later…**_

"BLOOD AND THUNDER! HOW DARE YOU TO ATTACK THIS GIRL?! INSOLENCE! IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, THEN FIGHT WITH ME AND FACE YOUR DOOM!"  
Said girl slowly backed away as the archer began laughing manically, aiming at the bandit who just tried robbing her. Before he could react, the woman released the bowstring, the arrow piercing through his chest. Quickly reloading her bow, the rest of the raiders were confronted with a rain of arrows. Those who survived either tried fleeing or attacking, but the archer took finished them off either way.  
Turning around, she noticed the girl's frightened look. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." The archer, now a completely different person, held out her hand. "Should we go back? I still need to buy some stuff and… your… parents must be worried."

"Mhm. Thank you, miss!"

…_**The next day…**_

"Thanks again for saving her!" The mother spoke to the timid archer, who only shook her head.

"I already told you it's fine…"

"But are you really sure you want to go through the forest? It's the shortest route and there are some abandoned buildings you could rest in, but there are so many stories of bandits and even slavers!"

The green clothed woman tried to reassure her, giving her an awkward smile. "I'm fine. After all, I still have mother's talisman to protect me… And I've got some practice with my bow all."

"Alright. But watch out!" The archer nodded, smiling as she left.


	6. Chapter in Between 1 (part 3)

**Christian: Uhmm... Who were you again?**

**Remeny: The readers. We are supposed to greet them, did you forget?**

**Christian: Ah! Thanks Rem!****_*smiles*_ Hello and welcome to this new... part-chapter of this retelling! Rem and I are here to greet you and inform you about some important information regarding this retelling!**

**Remeny: As, for example, pairings or possible requests from our mistress.**

**Me: _*frowns*_ I told you to not call me that, Rem.  
But yeah, here we go. I actually planned on finishing all of the males with this chapter, but I really wanted to update this story, so it won't include Brady and Owain. Sorry about that.  
I actually have a plot for Brady in mind, but... except for an overall idea, there's absolutely nothing for Owain. So yeah, it might still take some time until we can finally continue in the plot.**

**Remeny: Please excuse the mistress for this. Chris?**

**Christian: So now, here is the character. Author-Chan already may have decided on keeping the pairings for Mona and Myke a secret, but Rem and I will gladly tell you the other ones that are already decided in the end of the chapter!**

**Me: And sorry if Gerome might be OOC, he... just had no reason for being mean in this situation! _*looks around nervously*_**

**Now go on. Read!**

* * *

_**Chapter in Between 1: Not the only one (part 3/4)**_

_**7.**_

"See? Your fever is already gone. Just stay in bed for the next few days and you'll be fine."  
The girl reassuringly patted the head of the young male lying in the bed.

"Thanks for helping me…", he muttered, a little embarrassed. "You saved my race!"

She giggled. "Well, after I already read so much about them, I can't just let a Taguel die. Humanity already caused your kind enough problems." The girl handed him some food and then went to leave the small, hidden hut. "Just stay put. If someone from my village finds you…"  
Seemingly scared, the young man nodded, his long bunny ears bouncing.

…_**Some days later…**_

Putting on a cloak, the Taguel readied to leave.

Making his way through the thicket, he was lost in thoughts.  
_"I wonder if she'll be fine…"_, _"Will I be able to find them…?"_, _"Are the others alright?"_, but most of all _"How should I survive on my own? I can't let the Taguel go extinct!"_

After some time, he came across the village the girl lived in and froze. Bandits.  
He didn't know what to do. Should he help them? He could die! So just run away? But he can't just let them get killed.

A scream snapped him out of his thoughts.  
The girl was on the ground, scrambling to get away from the brigand raising his axe over his head, when suddenly a beast emerged from the woods, dashing towards them. When the man turned towards it, the beast spun around, slashing the brigand with its claws. Sitting on its hind paws, the giant bunny beast scanned the area after motioning the girl to leave.

"…As soon as I'm out of sight, you got to escape!" With this said, the girl ran away, into a small alley with lots of hiding spots, while it kept trying to fight off the brigands, albeit seemingly nervous. As she had vanished between some barrels, the creature did as she said, trying to reach the forest again, yet being surrounded, and, as it was trying to get through the brigands, it got shot in its upper leg, blood gushing out of the wound. Then suddenly, there were an awful lot of heavy footsteps coming from inside the village making the brigands retreat as fast as they could, while the mercenary group came into sight.

"What… is this?" Stunned, they gaped at the beast as their leader, a heavily armoured man, emerged from the group and stomped towards it.

"Hey, Taguel!" Scrambling to get away from the man, it took some shaky steps back. The Taguel knew what humans did to his tribe, how young children were slaughtered. "Don't worry, we don't have any profits if we kill you. But…" The man's eyes wandered to the arrow sticking in its flank. "If you'd join us, we'd treat that wound, you'd get some food, see the world…"

Suddenly, a strange rock formation enveloped the Taguel, and, as it broke, revealed the young male crouching on the ground, his hand at his wounded leg while the arrow was now lying in the dirt. "I take this as a yes?", the man asked while approaching the Taguel, who nodded in return.

"Y-yes."

* * *

_**8.**_

"Hmpf. If I had known this…" The male adjusted his glasses and sighed. "This is not good. I should have read or at least heard that regular travelling requires official documents in these lands…"

Carrying a small bag with his belongings as well as some food and water, the Mage went down a small, desolated walkway through a forest, heading for the next village, when suddenly a high pitched scream echoed throughout the woodlands. "What was-?" Quickly sneaking to where the voice came from, he was confronted with the sight of a dangerously wounded woman protecting a young girl from a Barbarian. In the blink of a second, he took out an Elfire Tome, chanting it and attacking the already wounded brigand, who quickly fell. Walking towards the two females, he reached out his hand towards the older one. "Are you alright, Miss?"

Chuckling slightly, she said, "Does it look like it? Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just a scratch." She took his hand and got up, stabilizing herself with her Steel Sword and giving him a warm smile. "And what are you doing here, girl?" The young blonde got up, looking a little sad and frightened.

"I-I'm looking for m-my friend… She said she'd be somewhere around here…" She then started crying, the whole situation obviously being too much for her.

"Don't worry, young lady." The man took off his hat and knelt down, looking at her from eye level. "I will look for your friend. If she is here, I am sure I will find her." The girl looked at him with bright eyes.

"Or…" The woman rose her voice, turning around to face the blonde Myrmidon which was about to sneak up to them. "Could it be that she already found us?"  
The younger blonde rushed towards her, hugging her legs, while the Myrmidon just stood there, flabbergasted.

"H-how w-were you able to notice me…?!" The woman only chuckled a little.

"I've got my tricks, girl. But… why are you here? You don't look like any of this continent's inhabitants, that's for sure." The blonde frowned.

"She," the older one motioned at her friend, "She wanted to look for an old friend of hers. Not that we found her yet."

"Ah, well," the Mage rose his voice again, "If that was everything, I must bid you farewell then."

"Have a save journey!", the young blonde called out, the two other females nodding in agreement. He turned to leave only to turn around again after hearing a thud.  
The brown haired woman had collapsed, her cloak now revealing her badly injured leg. He only then noticed the blood soaking her clothes as well as some puddles on the ground. In one swift motion, he was beside the females, making the woman drink some of a concoction.

As the wound slowly healed, he turned to the two females. "She needs a healer. The axe the Barbarian used looked rusty; no doubt that wound got infected."

The Myrmidon gave him a serious look. "There are nearly no Healers on the countryside. The only places where there are some are the Mila shrine or a small village, the Sages Hamlet. Both places are too far away." His brows furrowed. "Returning to the island would be faster and easier." The male gave her a confused look. "Our home. There are some people that could help her there."

"I will accompany you, as I do not have a certain destination at the moment."

…

"I have to thank you. Even if it will take some time, I will finally be able to reach my final destination. You have my gratitude." The woman smiled weakly.

"No problem. If you hadn't helped me, I would be dead by now. It's the least I could do. These merchants still owe me some favors."

* * *

_**9.**_

"Now, that's an awful lot of medicine. What do you need it for?"

Grunting, the man took the bag of medics he just bought, placing some money on the merchant's table. "'Tis none of your business." He then walked off, heading out of the town, not noticing someone following him.

…

"How are you?", the dark clothed man asked, entering a cave and walking towards a huge reptile, a wyvern, lying inside it. The dragon roared in return, seemingly happy at his return. "I'm glad," the Wyvern Rider responded softly, patting its head. The scaled beast snuggled up to him, heat radiating from its body. "You should rest, girl. I brought you some food and medicine." Suddenly, the wyvern roared loudly and her rider spun around catching a glimpse of orange hair disappearing behind the corner of the cave's entry. Leaving his purchases behind, he reached it with quick steps, finding a young girl, about the age of 9. "What are you doing here?", he asked rather harshly, making her wince.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry… I w-was just c-curious…", the girl stuttered, hair falling over her golden eyes. The man sighed.

"This place is not safe. Go back to your village." He turned around, walking back into the cave, but the girl clung to his pants, a curious glimpse in her eyes.

"Umm… In the cave… is that an actual wyvern?" He raised his eyebrow, even though it was barely visible behind the mask hiding part of his face.

"What else should she be?" Just then, said wyvern's head looked out of the cave. Turning around, he scolded her, "Didn't I tell you to rest? Your illness won't get better unless you do."

"So you bought these expensive medicines for her?" The male sighed, nodding.

"But even with good medicine, she won't get any better without rest…" He looked at the girl. "You should go back. I don't need more troubles." Taken aback by the man's bluntness, she nodded and scurried off.

…

"So you're leaving?" The man turned around, seeing his frequent visitor.

"I have no need to stay any longer." The girl seemed disappointed upon hearing this.

"Well… I hope you'll have a safe journey. And that your friend doesn't get ill again!"

* * *

**Christian: So how did you like the chapter? I hope you liked it! _*smiles*_**

**Remeny: As for the pairings... Mistress scolded us. We are not allowed to give away specific information. So all I will say is...  
Already taken females are Cordelia, Nowi, Olivia and Cherche.**

**Christian: So, if you have any pairing requests, suggestions on what could happen in future Chapters in Between, reviews or tips on how Author-Chan could improve her writing, we won't mind if you leave a review!**

**Me: So, see you next chapter! Bye! ;3**


	7. Chapter in Between 1 (part 4)

**Remeny: Greetings and good morning, day, evening or night. Our mistress finally completed this chapter, so that we will soon continue with the main plot.**

**Christian: Yaay~! Oh, and happy B-Day, Lissa-Chan~!**

**Me: ...Yeah, whatever...  
I don't think you'll ever stop calling me mistress, aren't you Rem?**

**Remeny: No, why should I?**

**Me: *sigh*  
Yeah, now here we go with Brady and Owain. By the way, Owain turned out to be special in two ways. You'll see what I'm talking about.**

* * *

_**Chapter in Between 1: Not the only one (part 4/4)**_

_**10.**_

"Nnngh…?"  
The man tried to get up from the cot he was lying on, stabilizing himself on his arms but falling back again, his whole body searing in pain. His eyes darting around, he noticed he was in some kind of ?massive stone building.

"Are you alright, boy?" His head snapped towards the voice's owner, an old man, who eyed him worriedly.

"Somewhat. What's this place?" The young male once more tried to get up, yet falling back again, flinching in pain.

"You should stay there and rest. Your wounds still haven't healed yet." The elder came to his side, handing him some food. "This is the Mila Shrine, an old center of pilgrimage. Now, it's deserted." The priest nodded, closing his eyes, quickly falling asleep again.

~~~…~~~…~~~

"_Now what 'ave we 'ere…?"  
Smirking, the Barbarian walked closer to the Villagers, his Steel Axe ready at his side. He snickered before suddenly grunting in pain, a stone having hit his head, spinning around. There stood – towered – a man in dark clothes, a grim expression adorning his features._

"_Whatcha think you're doin'?!" He spat out the words with an angry tone in his voice, making them, the Barbarian and some other brigands, flinch. "If ya scum wanna fight, then pick on someone your own size, ya cowards!"_

_Walking closer, slightly trembling, the Barbarian stomped closer. "O-oh yeah? W-well, make us!" Noticing the Villagers had already escaped, the man, an actually rather helpless priest, took his staff, slamming its end into the brigand's throat. The man fell to the ground, dead, as the others leaped at the priest._

~~~…~~~…~~~

The priest awoke alone in a cold room, only a bowl of soup on a table besides his cot. Slowly, he got up, his body aching, and grabbed it, hungrily eating all of it, even though it tasted awful.

Suddenly feeling really dizzy, he slumped back on the cot again, soon falling asleep.

~~~…~~~…~~~

_Covered in painful, yet not lethal wounds, the Priest played dead, staying on the ground in a small puddle of his blood._

"_Tch, what a moron," he heard one of the more important brigands say. "Though, he did manage to let the villagers escape. What a noble hero…" Feeling sick upon hearing the sarcasm in the last sentence, he frowned as the brigands then retreated._

_Slowly getting, he tried to walk towards the next village to get something to treat his wounds, but he didn't get very far before he had to rest again, sitting down next to a tree as he saw a certain, slightly familiar carriage come closer._

* * *

_**11.**_

"Are you a traveller, mister? What brought you here?"  
Looking down to see some village children gathered around him, the young male chuckled, kneeling down to talk to them at eye height.

"So you long to hear the tale of the legendary Owain Dark?" Eyes wide in innocent curiosity, the children nodded vigorously. "Well then!" He rose to his full height again. "Let's find a place to sit down. Tis not a short story…"

~~~…~~~…~~~

_Twas cold and still dark though twas already dawning when Owain Dark reached the small village. The hero still didn't know what awaited him, yet he had a feeling that twould be a fateful day as he saw the poor state the village was in. After some researches, his assumptions turned out to be true. The village had been raided. Everyone survived, but they had lost most of their belongings._

_Upon hearing of this, Owain Dark longed to avenge this grave injustice. Twould never been possible for him to ignore them in their need for aid, hence heading for the brigands hideout._

"And what happened then?" The myrmidon chuckled lightly at how the children enjoyed his story. Usually, people would call him a lunatic if he told them one of his stories, no matter if they were true or not.

"Everything at its time. Be a little more patient." He cleared his throat. "Where did I stop…? Ah, yes."

_Arriving at the brigands hideout, Owain Dark soon realized that twas a more difficult task than expected. Not that the brigands were stronger than him, because they were not. Twas the fact that a small boy of the village seemed to have been just as outraged at the grave injustice as the hero was. Sadly, he was less careful than even Owain Dark would have to be, hence he was caught._

The children gasped, shocked. "What happened to him?" He coughed, motioning them to calm down and be quiet.

_Twas a difficult situation for the hero; twould not do for him to risk an innocent's safety. Therefore, he quickly snuck to where the child was held captive, freeing the young boy and telling him to hide whilst Owain Dark defeated the enemies of justice. As their leader lay to the hero's feet, dreading his death, he revealed that the fated partner of the legendary hero was hidden at the place called the Sages Hamlet._

"…And now, he's on his next adventure to find said partner."  
Euphoric, the children then started to ask all kinds of questions, which the traveler happily answered before heading for an inn to spend the night.

* * *

**Remeny: We hope you enjoyed. Our mistress will try to keep updating fast, but you'll have to understand that school needs its time.**

**Me: Yeah, whatever. There's another female to add to the "Taken"-list.**

**Christian: Yes~! A friend of Author-Chan requested a pairing for Panne, and she'll gladly do that.**

**Me: ...You know, your cheerfulness and emotionless Remeny are starting to get annoying...  
Whatever, see you next update! Bye! ;)**


	8. Chapter 2 (part 1)

**Remeny: Welcome back.**

**Christian: Another chapter~ *giggles***

**Me: I should focus on writing more than on playing/updating/being on Miiverse. Otherwise I'll upload everything I already have before finishing the chapter I'm currently writing...**

**Christian: I doubt this will happen soon, as lazy as you are~**

**Me: Shut up, kid! *blushes* *crouches in the corner***

**Remeny: Anyway, this is the first part of chapter 2. Our mistress actually wrote a rather long chapter, and divided it into two parts, as some suggested. Please excuse the fact that this part contains most of the story while the second half is mostly the fight.  
Our mistress is trying her best on writing good fighting sequences.**

**Christian: So then~! Here goes the chapter~!**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: The shepherds (part 1)**_

"So this is the capital of Ylisse, Ylisstol! On our journey, I've never seen anything the like."  
The four men stood in the middle of the crowded street, Frederick staying behind a little, ready to act if one of their newcomers tried anything funny.

"Tis a dazzling sight indeed. Even the wonderful Roseanne has no town to compare!" The blue haired archer laughed. "But… Where did the fair ladies go?"

"Uh? Lissa wanted to do some shopping and Sully and Moniya went along…"

"…Why do you ask…?" Mykhail shot the archer a deadly glare.

"Ahaha, not important, my friend!"

* * *

"Thanks for borrowing me your coat again, Moniya!" Said coat looked a little unfitting on the cleric, who hid herself with its hood for some reason.

"No problem, but… Why do you actually need it?" Rubbing her neck, the cleric chuckled nervously.

"I just wanted to get something without getting noticed, but as a part of the shepherds, people tend to recognize you, you know?"

"I see… But what's about Sully? Wouldn't you get recognized too?"

"Sure gal, but think about it? Who would you worry more about, a cavalier or a cleric? Also, Lissa is way better known than me, ain't ya?" The cleric nodded, although it was hardly visible under the hood.

The brown haired shrugged.

"Alright then."

* * *

"So… Chrom? Where are we going again?"

"I need to inform my sister of the plegian brigands raiding our villages." The tactician frowned when the bluenette mentioned their nationality. "Also, she needs to know about these monsters which appeared yesterd–"

"Look!" The voice of an old man interrupted the young male. "The exalt came to check on us!" Chrom smiled as said person, a blonde woman – Sage, as Mykhail noticed – seemed to stroll through the streets followed by four Pegasus Knights and a Falcon Knight. Only one of them actually visually stood out of the group of guards, as all but one of the Pegasus Knights had either bright hair or wore a bright helmet. Said outcast had long, beautiful red hair and it somehow seemed as if she was distanced to her sisters-in-arms.

Then, Mykhail noticed the brand on the exalt's forehead, which was identical to the one on Chrom's shoulder. "Interesting." Surprised, the three other men turned to look at the tactician. "I've heard rumors of it some time ago, back in Valm… A group protecting the innocent and helpless led by the country's own royalty…" Looking the Lord in the eyes, he did a slight bow. "Isn't it like that, Prince Chrom?"

* * *

"Ah! There it is!" The girl excitedly picked up a bag of tea leaves. Turning to Moniya, she continued, "My friend said she was looking for this tea, but when I found it, I had no time to buy it. I'm glad nobody else bought it before me!"

"Good for you! …Huh? What is…?" Noticing a plain brown book between the tomes the shop was selling in the back room of the store. "Guys, there's something I want to look at. I'm back soon!" Running over to the bookshelf, the young woman pulled out the book, opening the cover page, silently reading the writing. Upon reading the authors name, she smiled. "So it really is… one of _his_ books…" Excitement laced her voice and was even visible in her dark eyes as she clutched the book to her chest. Looking at the price, her face lit up even more. Even with the little gold her brother gave her for personal purchases, she could still afford it!

"Do you want to buy this book, young miss?" Startled, the tactician looked at the merchant, a blonde, red eyed woman, who looked somehow familiar. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. It's just that some old man wanted this book to be kept for him…" Upon seeing the happiness on her face turn into a mix of fear and despair, the blonde quickly continued. "B-but I could give it to you for… let's say… 150%?" She gulped, knowing that she couldn't afford that. Reading the look on her face, the merchant knew that too. "Sorry, but I can't sell it for less. I've got a reputation to uphold, you know?"  
As Moniya was about to give up hope, another voice interrupted.

"Don't worry Madam, I'll pay it for her." Turning towards the voice, the two females saw a young man, around the same age as Lissa, with pitch black hair wearing typical Mercenary clothing. Smiling, he handed the merchant the exact amount of gold she asked for. Although still confused, the woman went off again, leaving the tactician and her "savior" alone.

"Uh… Thanks for your help. Is there any way I can return the favor?" The male smiled at her.

"I know you will when the time has come. But now, I think you should go back to your friends, eh?" With that said, he left, leaving the girl confused.

As she returned to Lissa and Sully, they suddenly heard a whisper. "Hey, isn't that princess Lissa?" Suddenly, the tactician understood why her new friend needed her coat.

"EHHH?!"

…_**Later, at the main marketplace…**_

"So… _That_ was some kind of… sixth sense?" Moniya looked at her brother with a curious expression.

"Mhm, something like that. And as far as we know, only female members of mother's bloodline have this special skill."

"Now that you mention it…" The siblings turn to look at the cleric, or rather, the princess. "What happened to your mother?"

"Right, what happened?", Moniya chimed in, giving her brother a curious look.

"Well…" He sighed. "It happened nearly a year ago…"

_Brushing some strands of hair out of her face, the grandmaster turned around, her amber eyes narrowed. She looked at the young family which had, upon going for a walk outside their village, been attacked by a small group of bandits._

"_No good… There are too many of them." She looked at the two other brown haired ones in the group. "Even if you were on their level, there are too many of them…"_

"_If we could only leave without them noticing…", the boy murmured, getting interrupted by his two years younger sister._

"_Bad idea. It won't be difficult for them to catch up." She looked out of the window with equally ember coloured eyes as her mother._

"_Mona's right. Not to mention that we're outnumbered, at a disadvantage because of their lance users and even though I'm stronger than them, you wouldn't stand a chance…" Her face then brightened up.  
"Myke, Mona, listen up. You're going to take them to the village, but watch out so nobody notices you. I'll distract them for time being."_

"_What?!", the siblings shouted in unison._

"_But Layla…!" The young mother looked frightened._

"_Don't worry, I've got a plan. Absolutely save. But until I return…" She turned to look at her own children. "Watch out for each other. I know you're already 15 and 17, but this world is more dangerous than you might think."  
With that said, the grandmaster (who looked much younger than she actually was), left their hideout, her purple cloak swaying as she went, as well as her waist long, dark brown braid._

"We never saw her again after that." Upon hearing everyone was shocked, although only one made that visible through her mimic. "By the way, where did Sully and Virion go?"

"Sully returned to the garrison. I assume this Virion went along." From his voice, you could easily deduce that Frederick didn't really liked Virion, most likely because he didn't just flirt with Sully and tried flirting with Moniya (to no avail), but also with Lissa.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped." Mykhail shrugged it off. "So we're going to officially meet Exalt Emmeryn now?"

"Mhm! Are you exited?"

"A little."

"No need to. She's the best older sister someone could imagine!"

They then went on towards the castle, not noticing woman with snow white hair watching them.

…_**shortly after that, in the throne room…**_

"Welcome home, Chrom, Lissa. Oh, and good day, Frederick." The sage, still accompanied by the white haired Falcon Knight, smiled at them. "How fared you all?"

"There shouldn't be any more problems with bandits. But we still need to watch the borders." The white haired woman had a stern expression. "They crossed over from Plegia."

"Forgive me, milord." The Falcon Knight spoke up and bowed. "My Pegasus Knights should have intercepted them."

Chrom shook his head. "No, Phila. Your duty is to protect the Exalt."

"Yes!" Lissa chimed in, smiling at the woman, Phila. "Besides, we had plenty of help!"

"Are you speaking about your new companions?"

"Yes, Moniya and Mykhail were a great asset when we fought the brigands. I've decided to make them a part of the shepherds."

"It sounds as if Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude. Thank you." She smiled at them.

"N-not at all, milady!" Moniya reacted, blushing a little.

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but I must speak." Mykhail froze, as his sister noticed and made a mental note to ask him why. The Grand Knight continued, his complains fitting the male's expectations. "Moniya claims to have suffered amnesia whilst her brother only called them "travellers". Yet, this is only a claim. We cannot rule out the fact that they could still be plegian spies." Mykhail frowned as the country got mentioned, leading to the female beside him making another mental note.

"Yet you allowed them into the castle, Chrom. I assume they have your trust?"

"Yes, they do. They fought bravely by our side, risking their lives." Both tacticians resisted the urge point out that it could've been planned to look this way."

"I see you have Chrom's faith, and as such you have mine as well."

"You're too grateful, milady." Moniya bowed, wondering why her brother was so awfully quiet.

"But thank you for your prudence, Frederick. Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have you as their guardian. I hope they remember to mention this matter at times…"

"They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace." He turned to Phila. "I assume you've already been informed about the creatures we encountered?"

She nodded. "They have been sighted all across the halidom."

"We are about to hold council." Emmeryn spoke up again. "I was hoping you would join us, Chrom."

"Of course, Emm."

"Oh, yeah! I wanted to show you the garrison! Come along!" Lissa spoke up again and grabbed the tacticians' arms, dragging them away.

"W-Wha-?" Mykhail stuttered, finally speaking up again.

"C'mon Myke! Let's go!"

…_**At the shepherds' garrison…**_

"So, Myke?", Moniya whispered. "Why were you so awkward when Frederick suspected us?"

"Uh?"

"You froze as Frederick spoke up, as if you feared something, and frowned when he mentioned Plegia." His brows furrowed.

"You're as attentive as always… Let's just put it like this, some unhappy stuff happened there."

"…Okay?" She eyed her brother, looking a little down.

"Don't worry, it's alright."  
The group of three, led by the young princess, then went through a short hallway, leading into the main hall of the garrison.

"Here we are! Our garrison!" Stretching out her arms in a fashion saying "Voilà!", Lissa turned around. "Make yourselves at home, guys." The two tacticians looked around, taking in the bland but somehow homey image around them. There were some tables around, but besides these, there were mostly equipment, concoctions and crates strewn around the place in a messy yet somehow organized fashion.

"Lissa! Are you alright, darling?" As they turned to the voice, they saw a pink clothed Troubadour gracefully rushing towards the group, her golden ringlets swaying back and forth as she ran.

"Oh, hey Maribelle!" The older blonde, Maribelle, huffed.

"'Oh, hey' yourself. Do you know how worried I was?" At this point, Moniya resisted the urge to 'aww', touched by the girls' friendship. But seemingly, her brother was rather confused by her acting. "I've sprouted 14 grey hairs fretting over you!"

"Aww, you don't need to worry that much. A battle or two won't kill me." Both tacticians rolled their eyes at the statement, obviously not having forgotten how the princess nearly got killed twice in the last battle. "…Although the bugs and bear meat wouldn't have been necessary." At this, Moniya nodded in approval when suddenly another voice rang out.

"Hey, squirt! Where's Chrom! Without ol' Teach around, I'd bet he had a rough time out there, ain't he?" They turned to see a blond Fighter coming towards them, and the younger Tactician tilted her head as she noticed the man likely was shirtless all the time, and gave him a confused look, whilst her brother just shrugged it off.

"So you're a "Teach" now, Vaike?" Lissa giggled, before she continued. "I never knew you could teach slow-wittedness."

"Never doubt the Vaike!", he said proudly before noticing her actual intentions. "Wait, what did you just say?" Interfering, a third voice rose.

"Excuse me," the pink and purple dressed, greyish-brown haired Pegasus Knight standing a little away of the group spoke up. "When will the captain return?"

"Poor Sumia has been beside herself with concern, her eyes permanently scanning the horizon during training… She might have gotten less bruises fighting blindfolded." At Maribelle's last comment, the tacticians actually started thinking about the profits of such training, yet these thoughts were interrupted by the princess.

"It's cute that you're worrying, Sumia. Yet, I think Chrom and I could handle ourselves."

"Sais the girl who nearly got killed two times." Just as the statement slipped out of her mouth, the female Tactician got everyone's attention.

"What?!" The Troubadour looked horrified.

"You got to admit, Mona, the only one who carried himself well was Frederick. Everyone else besides Sully and Virion nearly died at least once."

"Virion? Do you mean this philanderer calling himself a noble?" She scoffed, seemingly not liking him a lot.

"Yep, he annoyed Sully so much, that they did neither notice a Fighter going for Lissa, nor us interfering. Well, until she saved Myke from a Mercenary."

"Which actually wasn't necessary. I had no problems."

"Until Frederick saved you from their leader." Mykhail frowned at his sister and Lissa interrupted their discussion.

"Anyway, these two are Mykhail and Moniya. We met in southtown, and Chrom decided to make them our tacticians. You should've seen them in battle!" Lissa's eyes gleamed.

"Oh yeah?" Vaike spoke up again. "Can they do this, too?" He then burped loudly, making Moniya slap her forehead as Mykhail laughed.

"No, I think I could get some more practice." Slowly rising her face out of her hand, Moniya glared at her brother.

"Myke. This was unnecessary." He gave her a confused, but playful look.

"Burping is natural, Moniya."

"It still is disgusting, so stop encouraging him. Do you lowborns have to pollute even the air?" Maribelle scoffed at the two males. "I hoped you were cut from finer cloth, but it seems I was proven wrong. Hmpf." She then stormed off, still graceful though.

"Look, now you've done it." Moniya shook her head, holding her glasses to prevent them from falling.

"Don't worry," Sumia spoke up. "Maribelle tends to be… a little cold towards others."

"Or to just explode at times!", Lissa chimed in. "Just give her some time."

Pushing her glasses up her nose, the younger tactician hummed as her brother spoke up. "I certainly hope so… So we now have Vaike, Sumia and Maribelle…", he murmured, trying to memorize the names as Moniya interrupted.

"And who's him?" The others seemed confused.

"…Who?" The princess looked around, not knowing who the girl was talking about.

"…That Knight over there?" Pointing at him, the black haired Knight seemed surprised, whilst the others still didn't seem to notice who she was talking about.

"What Knight– Oh my gosh, Kellam! Since when were you there?" Everyone turned and, just then, they noticed the Knight, Kellam.

"The whole time, actually. But I'm more surprised that you could notice me. Usually, nobody does." Although speaking rather neutral, he seemed a little disappointed upon the latter. As Moniya was about to ask for the reason, someone else entered, interrupting their talk.

"Oh, captain!" Sumia rushed towards Chrom but slipped as she stepped on some papers lying on the ground.

"Are you alright, Sumia?" Moniya rolled her eyes at the statement while Mykhail helped the Pegasus Knight up.

"Y-yes…" She seemed a little embarrassed.

"Your boots again? I still don't know why you aren't getting new ones…", the prince muttered. "Anyway, we're leaving for Regna Ferox tomorrow. This mission is strictly voluntary, so if–" Mykhail interrupted.

"Chrom, I'd doubt that being a good idea." The Lord had a puzzled look on his face. "The military is needed to keep further brigands from entering, and the royal guard is supposed to protect the exalt. Who's supposed to fend off the ones already inside the halidom?" A stern look on his face, Chrom realized that the tactician was right. "I approve to it being voluntary, but you should only take a certain amount of members along."

"I'll come along anyway, even if you don't want me to." Mykhail turned to the cleric.

"Don't worry; as I don't think Maribelle would like visiting Ferox, I'd highly doubt she'll come along. Going on such a mission without anyone able to patch others up isn't that smart, see?" Her face lit up while Mykhail turned towards his sister. "One of us should stay here, the other one's going along."

Nodding, she voiced her opinion. "Alright. Care to go along? You definitely know more about the country than me…"

"Mhm," he hummed. "We once stayed there for some time. Although, that was more than ten years ago."

"Okay, I'll get everyone and we decide who will come along and who stays."

* * *

**Christian: *giggles* You know, the chapter actually was about twice as long. So it seems like a good choice that Author-Chan parted it, right~?**

**Remeny: As soon as our mistress finishes her current chapter, she plans on updating again. And as it is already nearly over, you will likely see another update soon.**

**Me: *sulking* ...You guys have to spill all my secrets do you...? **

**Remeny: If you'd like, I could already tell the readers who _they_ are.**

**Me: NO! ...Uh, so long, guys! I gotta handle something right now. Ò.Ó**


	9. Chapter 2 (part 2)

**Remeny: You really made it. I'm impressed.**

**Me: Hah hah hah, very funny.**

**Christian: O.O Rem has feelings?!**

**Me: Y'know, that was kinda mean...**

**Remeny: I do, at times. Though, at the moment, I'm feeling nothing.**

**Me: *fights the urge to start singing "nothing"*  
By the way, thanks for all the kind reviews! *places a bowl of cookies***

**Remeny: Now here is the next chapter.**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Shepherds (part 2/2)**_

"Is everyone here?" Chrom looked around. "We've got a long march ahead…"

"W-wait!" A greenish-brown haired cavalier ran towards the captain, the tactician standing right next to him.

"Stahl? What happened?" The prince had a puzzled look on his face.

"Why am I the last to hear about this expedition? I thought I mentioned that I want to join when I wasn't able to the last time…"

"But…" The princess joined their talk. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell him?"

Said man tried to justify himself. "Teach never forgets! …I just don't always remember…"

Lissa huffed. "Sure. By the way, are you SURE you haven't forgotten your axe this time?"

"Hey, that only happened once! …Training doesn't count." Mykhail slapped his forehead.

"Just make sure it won't happen again." He turned to Chrom. "Is everyone here now?"

Stahl spoke up again. "Miriel will join in later. She's one of our mages."

"Okay… Let's go then?"

The prince nodded. "Let's."

…_**the same day, sometime later…**_

"Wha-? How?!"  
As soon as they saw the strange purple figures, the prince signaled the group to stop. "The risen are now also appearing on the main roads?!" The tactician stiffened.

"Risen…?" He grimaced, remembering this name.

"We needed a name for this threat." Mykhail's head spun towards the Grand Knight. "And the council decided on this one."

'_What a coincidence…'_ The male chuckled a little, before speaking up again. "Stay cautious, everyone! This battle might be a little tricky…  
First, we'll clear this side of the river. By now, we're outnumbered. Six versus five, hopefully soon six on our side.  
Two barbarians, two mercenaries and two soldiers. As they're on different sides of the road, we'd have a chance on getting rid of half of them before the others could reach us. That would need us ambushing them from around the mount- Vaike, what's up?" The others turned to look at the Fighter, who seemed a little agitated.

"Has… anyone seen my axe?"

Mykhail groaned, slapping his forehead, while Chrom asked awkwardly, "Vaike… you're joking, right?"

"No, seriously! It's just been here!" Giving him an exhausted and stern look, Mykhail sighed.

"Just… stay behind and out of trouble until you get it back, alright?" Nodding in agreement, the fighter stayed a little behind as the group advanced behind the mountain.

"Alright, listen up. Especially those who actually have their weapons with them." The Grand Knight shot Vaike a glare. "Don't forget that certain weapons are in advantage against others."

"Weapon triangle," Mykhail interrupted. "Due to overall fighting styles, swords are better fit to block axes while you should avoid lance users, as lances aren't that easy to dodge. Axes therefore are in disadvantage against swords, but they can block lances rather easily. This leaves the fact that lances are 'strong' against swords and 'weak' against axes." He looked at Frederick. "This is what you meant, right?" He nodded.

"Well, with this settled…" They looked at the Lord. "Shouldn't we strike now?" The Tactician nodded, checking through possible strategies.

"Frederick, you took along that Steel Axe we found, right?" He nodded. "We can't give that one to Vaike, he doesn't have enough experience. You need a certain amount of experience to be capable of using better weapons. So you take it and take out the soldier near the river." He turned to the green armoured Cavalier. "Stahl, you have an iron sword and lance with you? Try using the lance to take out the Mercenary, but be careful. You don't want to get the Barbarians attention, as Mercenaries on their own are dangerous enough. I'll lure the Barbarian closer so that Chrom can surprise him and then I'll try to help Stahl. Lissa and Vaike, stay in back until it's safe." He looked at the others. "Any objections?"  
Upon receiving none (even though he expected them from Frederick), the brown haired male climbed the small mountain and, as soon as the Barbarian noticed him, gave the others a signal. Speeding out of their hideout behind the mountain, Frederick and Chrom swiftly killed their opponents whilst the Mercenary managed to dodge Stahl's attack, but jumping straight into a (compared to his sister's fairly weak) thunder spell Mykhail just chanted. Surprised, the Risen was unable to dodge Stahl's next thrust, dissipating into dust.

"Watch it!" Just in time, the Cavalier moved just in time to avoid a lethal hit, but the Barbarian that had already reached them slashed his axe down Stahl's leg. Dashing in between, his iron sword ready, Mykhail dodged his next strike, buying the other man time to bring down his sword to the Risen's neck. Spinning around, they noticed that Chrom and Frederick had handled the other soldier just fine. "Stahl, go to Lissa." The Cavalier took off towards the Cleric still hiding behind the mountain, leaving the Tactician alone.  
Suddenly, Mykhail heard a branch snap. He spun around, stepping back so that a sword "only" slashed down his left arm. Jumping back, he blocked the next blow of the enemy he failed to remember and notice sneaking up to him: the second Mercenary.  
Slashing forwards, he managed to slash across the Risen's chest, but this didn't seem to affect him much as the purple being rose his sword again. Bringing up his own, Mykhail dodged the weapon only centimeters from his head, when suddenly a fireball hit his enemies back spot on, buying the tactician to trust his sword through the Mercenary's chest, making him go up in smoke.  
Turning to his savior, in front of the Tactician stood a red haired mage, adjusting her glasses with her middle finger. With a grin, he gave her a small wave. "Thanks."

"There is no need for such signs of gratefulness for I sorely did aid you in order to make raise the chances of surviving." The woman adjusted her hat. "Therefore I must ask you to-" The man interrupted.

"See Lissa, I know." He turned around to go to said Cleric when she spoke up again.

"Could you know who this item's owner is?" Mykhail turned again, seeing her hold up an Iron Axe. He nodded and motioned her to come along, walking towards where he assumed Lissa and Vaike to be. "And could you, by chance, fix your disheveled clothing? It is rather distracting." He raised his eyebrow at her, confused, but brushed it off.

_**~~~…~~~...~~~**_

"Myke!"  
Upon getting her sigh, the Cleric rushed towards said male, her Heal Staff ready, while Mykhail peeled his arm out of the cut open and slightly blood soaked coat. Looking at the rather deep cut, the princess gasped. "How did _that_ happen?" He shrugged.

"I always said that Mercenaries are more dangerous foes than many others. Here you got the proof." He eyed the cut in his coat, parting the purple eye markings on it in half. "Seems I need someone to sew that for me…"

Closing the wound, she looked up at him. "You can ask Sumia. And watch out next time!" The Tactician nodded and turned towards two other ones, overhearing a little of their conversation, which included the question "how absentminded somebody can be to misplace their own weapon".  
Heading towards Chrom and Frederick, he scanned the other side of the river.

"Are you alright? Your coat looks a little… damaged." The Tactician smiled a little.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. How about you two?" They didn't look hurt to Mykhail, but he couldn't be sure without his sister's skill.

"We're fine too. Luckily, that Soldier was rather far away so that we noticed him in time." The glasses wearing man smiled. "So what next?"

"One Barbarian, one Soldier and one Mercenary. Two small fortress ruins. Can't tell if there's someone inside, sorry." He waved the others closer.  
"So, now… We need to get over the river. Obviously. My plan: Get into these fortresses. I'd let Frederick and Stahl do it, as they could reach them before getting confronted from anyone, and once inside one of them, you can easily ambush an incoming enemy. Although, there is a high chance of enemies hiding in them, which means someone should go with Stahl, preferably Vaike for weapon triangle reasons.  
Also, we could take out the Soldier from a little farther into the river if we used magic, yet there'd be the problem that most of our people's clothes aren't fit for wadding through water." The Tactician looked at the Mage. "Means if you're doing it, either me or Chrom would have to carry you on our shoulders. And the fact that I can use magic too, even though it's _really_ weak, would speak for me, so I'd say Chrom either stays in back with Lissa or goes with Frederick." He turned to the prince. "Your choice." Chrom nodded, walking over to Frederick while Stahl helped Vaike up his horse.  
"So Lissa, you stay at this side of the bridge. You should be safe here."

_**~~~…~~~...~~~**_

Standing in the river, water slowly flowing around his knees, the Tactician confirmed that everyone was in place, so that they could start the plan. Clumsily flipping through the pages of his Tome and, upon having found the right spell, the duo in the river signaled the others to start by simultaneously casting their magic towards their enemy, drawing his attention as well as causing grave damage to him. Quickly chanting another spell as he tried running into the river, the Mage on Mykhail's shoulders took out the Soldier. The young man then wadded over to the other shore, kneeling down in the water as he reached it so than Miriel could get off him, directly standing on dry ground.

"Thank you." The man got up, looking her in the eyes and motioning her to brush it off.

"No prob, I only did my job." He then directed his view to the others, seeing that they seemed to have finished their enemies until he suddenly saw another figure approaching the blue haired Lord.  
"Chrom!", he called out, making said male look at him and drew his attention away from the enemy, but luckily also directing the others' attention to him. "Behind you!" The prince spun, bringing his sword up just in time to block the strike. The Barbarian, which seemed to be the leader, then quickly fell as a Silver Lance dug through his flesh, a certain Grand Knight standing behind where he Risen was before going up into smoke.

"Was this the last of them?" Mykhail scanned the field searching for more enemies as Miriel and Lissa walked closer to the group of men which now stood in the middle of the field. He nodded, showing Chrom that this was right.

"No more of them." Walking up to the Lord, the Tactician placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry for not seeing this guy earlier." Upon getting a confused look, he added, "It was my job to do so."

"Don't worry, nothing happened." He looked around, noting that everything was okay while his sister healed up some _really_ minor injuries. "We should go on now, shouldn't we?"

"Ferox is only one and a half day away; we should reach its border tomorrow evening if nothing happens." He looked at the small rearguard coming closer. "We could stop at one of the next villages if you want. It's already afternoon…"

"A good rest for the night could be helpful, especially since we could face more enemies… Alright."

…_**Meanwhile in the garrison…**_

"So what are you reading?"  
The young Tactician looked up from her book, adjusting her glasses, to face the young, rust-red haired Mage.

"A tactics book I bought yesterday. It's really interesting…" Moniya then returned her attention to said book while the boy managed to see something on it.

"What, the author is called Bandit?" She looked up again, smiling a little.

"Yes. I admit, it's a little odd, but his books are really, _really_ good, Ricken." Said boy nodded, while someone was entering the room.

"Milady?", the redhead spoke up. "I'm Cordelia from the Pegasus Knights. Major Phila sent me to inform you that there is a village which is supposed to be harasses by bandits and that she wants me to join you if you investigate." The Tactician nodded, hopping down her chair.

"Ricken, can you tell the others that we'll check this out? I'll go getting the stuff out of the convoy."

* * *

**Me: Meh, bad reference is bad. But hey, I promised this Bandit reference, and I keep my promises!  
...Which is why I never promise Chrom to not sacrifice myself.  
**

**Remeny: Anyway, back to our usual after-chapter-topic. Due to strategic reasons-**

**Me: Just say that I'm biased. I want my Galeforces.**

**Remeny: ...our mistress will only pair Donnel either with Tharja or Sully.**

**Christian: Also, don't forget to tell us some pairing requests! Author-Chan will tell you if she'll do it~!**

**Me: You make it sound like I'm refusing nearly every pairing. I only refuse if one character is taken, both are taken or I really can't write it properly.  
Anyway, bye~! See you next update~!**


	10. Paralogue 1 (part 1)

**Me: *looks at the date* HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY OF FIRE EMBLEM, EVERYONE! *throws confetti***

**Remeny&amp;Christian: *stare***

**Me: What? It's a special occasion! Let's celebrate! *places food, cake and drinks*  
*throws more confetti***

**Remeny: So this was the whole reason why you updated earlier than planned...?**

**Me: Yep~!**

**Christian: A-anyway...  
****On to the next chapter...?**

**Remeny: Yes, you have a read and we will handle that.**

* * *

_**Paralogue 1: Sickle to Sword**_

"Are we there soon?"  
Walking the street to towards the village, Moniya's feet did already hurt from the long march. Luckily, the village wasn't much farther, yet the sun already started to set.

"If the fair lady would like me to, the noble Virion would gladly carry the lovely maiden for what is left of the way." She turned towards the voice's owner, a questioning look on her face. Sighing, she returned her attention to the road.

"Yeah, whatever…" She then walked over to the for others somehow invisible Knight, smiling at him.  
"So, how are you? Isn't it hard to walk in such heavy armour?" The Knight shrugged.

"You get accustomed to it after some time. It's not that hard." She only nodded.  
Then suddenly, there was a figure scrambling to get away from the village. "Wha…?" Suddenly, the red haired Pegasus Knight landed next to her.

"It seems like this is a villager… Should I check it?" The brown haired female nodded in agreement.

"Could you take him here? He might tell us what's going on in the village." Nodding, the Pegasus Knight took off towards what they assumed to be a villager while the others advanced towards the village when suddenly another figure appeared, chasing after the first one.  
"What…? Is this…?" Focusing on the second figure, the surroundings suddenly took on a much darker colour, the first figure dimly glowing in green whilst the one following it radiated a red glow.  
"Everyone, the second one of these two is an enemy!" She turned towards the others. "We gotta help the one getting chased!" Getting pulled up Sully's horse as she galloped towards the figure.

"Alright gal, what to know?" The young woman looked up to the cavalier which held her tightly in the saddle, surprised, before then redirecting her view to the enemy.

"A brigand, Barbarian, an Iron Axe. Better use your Iron Sword. I'll help you, don't worry." Nodding, Sully made her steed speed up even more while the Tactician started chanting a Thunder spell.  
When Sully had readied her horse, Moniya released her magic, sending a thunderbolt towards the man, hurting him badly as well as stopping him before the cavalier's iron sword pierced through his throat, blood dripping from the wound. Chanting another spell, Moniya then killed the obviously dying man.  
"Could you help the other ones to come closer? I'll wait for Cordelia and this other guy." Nodding, Sully took off whilst Moniya motioned the others to come closer.

"I'm back, Milady." The Tactician jumped, yelping. She then sighed, not having noticed the Pegasus Knight which already stood behind her. Beside the redhead stood a young male in regular Villager clothing wearing a tin pot on his head. Realizing that Moniya was in charge, he quickly took her hand and fell to his knees.

"Please, M'lady, ya gotta help 'em! If ya ain't help 'em, I dunno what these bandits are gonna do to 'em!" Taking her hand out of his and placing it on his shoulder, she silenced the male.

"Well, what do you think we're here for? And, no need to call me lady. Anyway… the village seems to be empty." She turned her head, checking it up again. "Where is everyone?"

"They brought 'em to their hideout. I'll show y'all the way, but we gotta hurry."

…_**at the brigands' hideout…**_

"Now what to do… My chances really ARE bad…"

Noticing a somewhat familiar figure walking up and down near the hideout, Moniya approached whilst they still were waiting for everyone to gather. "Is there a problem?"

The redhead jumped, seemingly surprised before her face lit up. "Perfect timing! Would you lend me a hand?" The Tactician gave her a confused look. "Some bandits attacked a village and took the inhabitants with them. As a merchant, it's not good for me if my customers get killed. Even if they shouldn't be that strong, I'm not sure if I could beat them." Her still amber eyes seemingly looking at an outer wall, she actually scanned through the area, noting an awful amount of enemies inside, mostly Barbarians, some Archers and two Thieves. The merchant was right; they were hardly a match for the Trickster. "I'd even sweeten you the deal… a little."

The brown haired female looked up. "How exactly?" '_Now this is getting interesting…'_

"I've got some special weapons. Actually, only two of them, but these are rather good ones. Easy to use, but really sharp blades… And you don't even need any special technique to use them!" She smirked, taking out a sword looking similar to Chrom's Rapier and what seemed to be a Bronze Lance, only that they had some ornaments on them and were made out of some white metal. "I'd usually sell them for 2500 gold per weapon, but… How about 2000?" The Tactician gave her a confused look.

"Seriously? So basically, we'd have to spend money to actually get our reward, which would only be 1000 gold maximum whilst we're risking our lifes for you and your customers? I don't think we need new weapons that desperately." Moniya tried remembering the sum she had taken along, which should have been about 4000 gold, so that she could barely afford the weapons. This actually was the main reason for her current bargaining, not the actual money loss. She mentally lit up noticing the merchant's frown. "1500."

A smirk now on her face again, the merchant spoke up again. "But they are coated with a special remedy. It would take a LONG time until they break. Plus, they DO look quite impressive." Now it was the Tactician's turn to frown. This merchant had noticed that she only wanted to bargain, making said action a little difficult.

"1700. A strategist won't pay for looks, only for usefulness." Crossing her arms, she sent the redhead a firm look. "My last offer. Or…" Moniya paused, cocking her head to the right. "Do you want to fight the brigands alone?" They both knew that they didn't have much time.

The merchant sighed in defeat. "Deal." Exchanging money and weapons, the Tactician motioned the others, who already gathered a little farther behind, to come closer.

Shaking hands with the merchant, smirking, Moniya said, "For a good cooperation. Moniya, one of the tacticians of the shepherds." Realizing she had been deceived, the other female sighed.

"You're good, girl. Not many people manage to pull a bluff like that, let alone bargaining with my family. Call me Anna."

After explaining the situation to everyone and handing the Lance to the one who needed it most, which was apparently the village boy, Donny as he introduced himself, whilst Sully, as the only other sword user, demanded that she keeps the sword for herself, the group placed themselves in front of two of the entrances, not visible for the three Barbarians in the first room.

Taking up a pebble from the ground, Moniya smirked. "This could work. I'll try making them come closer; Virion, you try shooting him as soon as he comes in sigh. Ricken, same goes for you. After that, Donny should be able to take one out. Kellam…" She directed her eyes to the tall man standing beside her, which nobody beside her noticed. "They shouldn't be able to harm you, with that armor of yours, so could you protect Donny in worst case?" He nodded. "Alright. Everyone, hide!"  
Hidden from the brigands view behind a shabby wall, Moniya picked up a stone, throwing it against a stone plate on the ground, catching their attention and making one of them slowly come closer. Luring him out of his companions view, the trap closed. An arrow piercing through the flesh of his shoulder, he spun around, only to get cut on his chest by a blade of wind before the village boy dashed towards him, the Lance piercing through his guts, killing the man. Donny seemed frozen in place, this hands trembling as the man's corpse slid down from his weapon whilst the other man slowly came closer.  
Step after step, the man slowly drew closer as the tactician's mind raced. _'What now?!'_ She hadn't even thought about what to do if he got suspicious. _'I'm so stupid…'_ He then walked out only to have his ribcage and inner organs pierced by Sully's Lance.

"Be more careful, girl. We trust you with our lifes, so dontcha dare let us down." The brown haired woman gulped and nodded, before scanning the field again.

"The first room's empty; two more rooms. Two Barbarians in one, a Barbarian and an Archer in the other one, another Archer behind the walls." She sighed, thinking. "Okay, we'll split up. Maribelle, please stay behind. It's not safe for you if you're coming along." She nodded, as the Tactician thought again. "Virion, you stay with her in case anyone slips past us. And concentrate on the battle, would you? Cordelia, Anna, we're taking the room with the two Barbarians, okay? Sully, Kellam, Donny and Ricken take the other one. Stay away from the back wall, and please, _**please**_ be careful." Worry visible in her eyes, Moniya watched them as they approved before they entered the first room and then parted.

Sneaking into a hallway, Moniya signaled Cordelia, who currently was high above them, to attack one of them. Speeding down from the dark skies, the Pegasus Knight landed next to her target, slamming her Lance through his shoulder, even breaking some bones, yet not killing him. His ally rushing towards the wounded man, the red haired Trickster interfered; easily killing him with her Levin Sword, as the Tactician swiftly stabbed the other brigand's chest from behind, taking him out as well. She quickly snatched the key one of the men had with him; she motioned the others to come along. "Quick, to the others!"

Dashing through the hallway into the other room, Moniya froze, eyes wide. Sully was dangerously wounded and Ricken and Kellam were busy fighting off the Archer, so that Donnel was facing the Barbarian. _**Alone.**_  
Rushing towards the boy, fear filled her as the brigand raised his axe, ready to deal a lethal strike.

Then suddenly, he dropped it, the tip of a sword sticking out of his chest.

* * *

**Christian: ...You do like your cliffhangers, Author-Chan...**

**Me: Sure do! X)**

**Remeny: Yeah... Nothing new regarding pairings.  
...You do realize that we are taking requests, right?**

**Me: No need to be shy!  
Also, I'd appreciate some reviews. And I want to ask you something: Should I write some more chapter previews, and if yes, should I leave them online or delete them after the chapter is up?**

**Christian: Anyway, bye now!**


	11. Paralogue 1 (Part 2)

**Remeny: Why are you updating yet again?**

**Me: Why should the readers wait longer?**

**Christian: But you don't have a chapter stock anymore...**

**Me: I'll deal with that... Don't worry. And I knew something about the first scene. I knew it was coming as soon as I started describing battle closer.  
I had to write it less detailed to not have to rate it M.**

**Remeny: I remember how you actually wanted to write that one...  
At least we have some more characters.**

**Me: Yep~! ...And don't you dare to tell them about the cousins. They have to keep their mysteriousness.**

**Christian: What cousins? What are we doing here again?**

**Remeny: ...So Chris' memory problem shows up again.**

**Me: Retelling? Greeting readers?**

**Christian: Oh yeah! I see!  
What's a retelling again?**

**Me: *looks at Remeny***

**Remeny: Technical problems. Please wait.**

* * *

_**Paralogue 1: Sickle to Sword (part 2)**_

_Rushing towards the boy, fear filled her as the brigand raised his axe, ready to deal a lethal strike._

_Then suddenly, he dropped it, the tip of a sword sticking out of his chest._

Moniya slowed down, surprised – stunned. Suddenly, the sword swung upwards, cutting the Barbarian's ribcage open as his corpse fell, blood spilling on the ground, while revealing a certain black haired Mercenary. The Archer, momentarily stunned as the scenery happened in the corner of his vision, then quickly fell to the young Mage. "Is everyone alright?" The mysterious male easily got everyones attention as he spoke up and, upon noticing the wounded Cavalier, he whistled.  
Then suddenly, her figure was enveloped by green light and her wounds partly healed, before a white haired Cleric appeared from behind one of the walls, a Physic in her hands.  
Sighing in relieve, the Tactician only noticed the Mercenary had come closer as he ruffled her hair. "You're playing quite reckless, aren't you?" She blushed, looking to the ground.

"They could've either reached Maribelle or cornered us otherwise… Also… I never said I am a good tactician…" He chuckled, disheveling her hair even more.

"I wouldn't call it bad… And trust me, I've seen worse. You'll get better by time." At this, she smiled, looking up at the only slightly taller male.

"Thanks…" Then someone cleared their throat, snapping the twosome out of their conversation.

"Do you know this man, Moniya?" Their heads snapped towards the blonde Troubadour that had just appeared. Blushing again, she nodded as the man spoke up.

"Excuse us, milady, if we might have been rude. My cousin Lin and I are travellers. I met Miss Moniya two days ago in Ylisstol as I was looking through a few shops." He offered her a small bow. "Call me… Key" Noticing the confused looks he got, he added, "Like those for unlocking a door, yes," while blushing ever so slightly.

The white haired female, Lin apparently, walked up to them, wrapping her arm around her cousin's shoulder. "Cous already told you my name. Nice to meet you guys!" She gave the others a warm smile. Quickly glancing at the Cleric, Key seemed to remember something.

"Oh, yeah!" He motioned towards another room which seemed to be empty. "There was a treasury. Thanks to some thieves, we didn't need any keys to get the things inside. It's just… you might find better use for them then we. We already found a Rescue on a market and for the Killing Lance…" He chuckled and Moniya nodded, understanding what he meant.

"Thanks!" She said, taking the items from Lin and handing them to Maribelle and Sully.  
The group, now accompanied by the two mysterious travellers, entered a hallway leading to another small room, where there only stood one Barbarian. As Moniya was about to make up a plan, the Mercenary rose his hand.

"I've got an idea. Pretty safe AND it gets him," he motioned to Donnel, "a little more fighting experience." The Tactician gave him a confused look as he motioned the Villager closer. "Trust me." Before anyone could speak up, he walked into the room, smiling as he went. Everyone else besides Lin was shocked; she therefore motioned them to relax as the man's voice was heard. "Sorry, it seems I'm lost… Do you happen to know where the next village or road is?" A low chuckle accompanied the brigand's footsteps before Key suddenly moved, spinning around the attacking enemy and drawing his Steel Sword, slashing his back open, before Donny leaped forwards, his Lance piercing the Barbarians chest.  
He walked towards the others, waving, showing that he's just fine. "See? I told you it's safe."

Most of them were stunned because of his reckless strategy, all but one. "What were you thinking?! Do you realize how easily you could've ended dead?!" The man flinched as Moniya scolded.

"S-sorry…" The Tactician sighed, not noticing the white haired Cleric suppressing a giggle. The brown haired female then scanned the last room, where there only was the boss. She frowned; this man was strong and it would never be possible to beat him all alone. Also, he wasn't near the door, so another preemptive attack wouldn't be possible either. She bit her lip, when suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder. Looking up, she faced Lin's brown eyes before said female held up her Rescue, making the Tactician's face lit up again.

"Okay… Anna, you go with Cordelia. You attack him from the sky with your Levin Sword. Virion, Ricken, you try to attack him from the distance. Sully, Donny, Kellam, you stay behind. It's too dangerous." The three of them nodded. Moniya inhaled deeply before speaking up again, fear slightly audible in her voice. "I'll distract him." Suddenly, she was spun around and forced to look Key in the eyes.

"You scolded me because I was being reckless, and now you expect me to just let you do the same? I won't." He stared straight into her currently ember eyes as she did with his brown ones. The glasses wearing woman would not change her mind, he knew that but he wouldn't let her carelessly throw her life away. She then suddenly smiled, surprising him.

"That's why I trust you to help me in worst case, just as I do with Maribelle and your cousin." Looking back and forth between the two Staff users and the sixteen year old woman in front of him, he had a confused look on his face. Motioning them closer, Moniya continued, "If I'm getting into trouble before Ricken and Virion can attack, I want you to interfere as I want you two…" She turned towards Lin and Maribelle. "…to heal or rescue the two of us if necessary." Taking a few steps, she turned to be able to look at everyone. "Is everything clear? Remember, the tiniest mistake can cost lifes." Some visibly unsettled by her comment, they all showed that they understood.  
Anna and Cordelia disappearing in the night sky, the Tactician gave the others a grin and a small wave before she entered the room, facing the man inside, a Barbarian like most of the others, yet obviously superior. Surprisingly, he smirked at her.

"What 'ave we 'ere…? Whatcha doin' 'ere, pretty lass?" She froze, remembering something Mykhail had told her about brigands acting towards women. Gulping, she nervously took a few steps backwards and, as the man came towards her, she had an idea. Inhaling deeply, she drew the sword she had got from Anna, murmuring the lines from her Thunder Tome, which she for some reason wasn't able to understand but also memorize. Clumsily avoiding the incoming blow of the man, she focused the spell on her blade, swinging it upwards, the sword not reaching him, yet the electric blade forming from her spell, which easily took him out as she fell to the ground, panting heavily. She heard footsteps rushing towards her, as well as worried voices, but everything seemed fuzzy to her, her vision a single blur of colours, not only because her glasses had fallen to the ground.

"I'm… al…right…" was everything she managed to say before her body collapsed from exhaustion.

~~~…~~~…~~~

Groggily opening her eyes, Moniya was greeted by a beige… something.  
Slowly getting up from the hard, she assumed wooden floor, sleepily rubbing her eyes, she was greeted a yellow and grey blur, surrounded by dark brown, beige and some dusty brown, green and blue. Squinting her eyes, she tried to make out any forms but sighed as she wasn't able to do so.

"Is there a problem?" The woman smiled at the blur that she now knew was the dark haired Knight.

"Have you, by chance, seen my glasses?" Answering her question, Anna's voice rang out from behind her.

"I've got them right here. You've missed a few things." Turning backwards to get said item, Moniya sheepishly grinned at the redhead as she placed them on her nose.

"What exactly?" The Tactician only now noticed that only the three of them were on what seemed like Anna's merchant carriage, the capitol already in sight. Seemingly thinking, the redhead placed a finger on her chin.

"After we found the villagers, these two had already disappeared. No one noticed when they left." Moniya frowned at this; she still wanted to talk to the Mercenary and the Cleric. There was something… off. "Oh, and… that redhead carried you most of the time. Quite surprising for a woman, if you ask me. Anyway… I sold most of my stuff, so now I'm heading to the capitol too. I'm even letting you rest in my carriage for free, as nice as I am!", she chimed happily, making the brown haired woman smile. "And that boy you found yesterday! Seems he wanted to join your group, so he came along too." Moniya's eyes widened at this. Donnel was coming along?! She sighed.

"Anything else?" The merchant shook her head, before smirking and motioning the still sleepy Moniya to come closer.

"Bargaining with my family is something not everyone accomplishes. Congrats on that." Winking, she took the females hand, placing something inside. Looking at the object, the Tactician noticed it was a small teddy bear, similar to the one fixed on Anna's sword. "I kinda like you. So that's to show you're a friend of the family."  
Just then, Sully rode closer, Donny sitting on her horse as well.

"Up again? You've been asleep quite a while, gal." Chuckling sheepishly, Moniya scratched the back of her head whilst Sully smiled at her. "Y'know, you're quite fast, but you're lacking stamina." The Tactician gave her a confused look. "Wanna train with me when we're back in the capitol?" Stunned at first, the younger female quickly nodded before Sully then sped up, riding towards Ylisstol at high speed.

"It is not only stamina that you are lacking." Spinning around to face the owner of that voice, she went to the other side of the carriage to see Maribelle on her horse with Ricken behind her. "While that young man dodged the bandit's attack yesterday, his movement had an, for a commoner unusual, amount of grace." She removed her eyes from the road to show Moniya a smirk. "I will teach you such things, if you want." Moniya smiled as she answered.

"Sure."  
She had no idea what she had gotten herself into.

…_**the previous evening, near the borders of Ferox…**_

"Chrom?"  
Narrowing his eyes as he tried making out the Tactician through the darkness and the snowstorm they were in, the prince gave Mykhail a questioning look. "Have you seen Sumia?"

"She found a Pegasus on our way here. She'll join later." Sighing, Mykhail ran a hand though his hair, nodding. Suddenly, they heard a sneeze from behind them, where they saw a freezing Lissa. Sighing again, the brown haired male took off his coat and gave it to her, getting surprised looks.

"I've been here when it was winter. And that without a coat. No harm done." He brushed them off, his eyes fixed on the wall separating Ferox from the other countries which slowly came in sight. He then narrowed his eyes.  
"…I have a bad feeling…"

* * *

**Me: Y'know, I _have_ lots of plans! No way I'll slack off again!**

**Christian: Uh... the readers are back...**

**Me: Eh? *clears throat* Yes, as I have some really nice plot ideas, I'll try my best to write faster.  
Reminds me... Did no one notice the similarity between the OC mother (Layla), the woman from Cynthia's drabble and the woman from Laurent's drabble?  
...Not that I want to say anything with that...**

**Remeny: Yes, yes. Anyway, about our beloved shipping issues... I'll summarize which women are al****ready taken (without the siblings):  
****Panne, Cordelia, Nowi, Olivia and Cherche.**

**Christian: We take requests~!**

**Me: We said that already. But yeah... I have decided on something in case I can't update that quickly/want to post a preview-ish thing.  
And I expect myself to (hopefully) laugh while writing that! So stay tuned! ;P  
**


	12. Preview Chapter 3 (Chrom)

**Me: Well, new… thing?**

**Christian: Yes, as Author-Chan already said, this is something different for a preview~!**

**Remeny: …Even though it's actually more of an interview than a preview…**

**Me: Who cares?! Let's just get this started!**  
**Now… Guess who'll be interviewed first!**

**Chrom: Wait, that's why you dragged me over here? What's the point in asking them?**

**Me: That's called Rhetoric, Chrommikyns. And yes, it's the only reason.**

**Chrommikyns: Wha-? What did you just say?!**  
**…And change my name back!**

**Me: …Maybe. Anyway, your questions later. Mine have priority!**

**Chrom: How?! What's the reason for that?!**

**Me: I have people to entertain, unlike you, Chrommikyns.**  
**So first question: What do you expect to happen when you reach Regna Ferox?**

**Chrom: …Is there something special that should happen?**

**Me: …No. Nothing at all.**

**Chrom: Then why do you ask?**

**Me: …JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!**

**Chrom: Okay, okay!**  
**Arriving, telling them of the Risen, getting help and returning.**

**Me: *giggles* (How naïve…)**

**Chrom: Did you say something?**

**Me: …Nope! Can you explain it more exact?**

**Chrom: How exactly?**

**Me: Well, duh! What do you expect from the country?**

**Chrom: Well… People call them barbarians so… Loads of mead and meat…**

**Me: Welp, that… seems true, to be honest. But really, how contra productive can a man be?!**

**Chrom: What's that supposed to mean?!**

**Me: Well, I would've gotten better material out of Frederick or Lon'qu!**

**Chrom: Lon'qu?**

**Me: Don't worry 'bout it Chrommikyns. Any questions?**

**Chrom: Okay. First: Who are you actually?!**

**Me: The author of this story which is about you, the shepherds, the siblings and many others! Call me Yarumi, that's what most people do.**

**Chrom: Weird name. Is that foreign?**

**Me: Well Mister "I'm named after a chemical element", I think you shouldn't talk about weird names!**  
**Anything else besides criticizing my main online name?**

**Chrom: …You said you're the "author"?**

**Me: Yes…?**

**Chrom: They why do you have to make this all happen!? Why do the Risen have to appear?! Why does Plegia have to attack our villagers?!**

**Me: Duh, because it would be boring otherwise!**

**Chrom: What?! You just-!**

**Me: Next question! Or should I call Rem?**

**Rem: *suddenly appears behind Chrom with a creepy emotionless face* You called, Mistress?**

**Chrom: Eh… It might not be necessary… Just m-**

***insert bell sound***

**Me: Seems our time's up, Chrommikyns!**

**Chrom: Wha-?**

**Me: The interviews have a time limit. I could make them longer, but as boring as talking to you is, I won't stretch this any longer. Bye~!**

* * *

**Me: So that's it. Also, I maybe should tell you that the way I usually tease Chrom actually is nicer than how I tease my guy friends. Means none of these statements was meant in a mean way.**

**Remeny: No Chrom's have been injured for this dialogue.**


	13. Chapter 3

**Me: Alright! Here we go once more!  
...You know, tell me if you liked the last thing. The more people like it, the more of these I'll do.  
Although I can't promise you'll like all of them.  
**

**Remeny: You do realize we say such stuff usually at the end? People tend to remember it better this way.**

**Me: As if I care. I don't think people will do that anyway, except those that already did.**

**Christian: And who else are you going to interview then?**

**Me: Depends. Who people want to see... Maybe some of my friends...****Depends.**

**Remeny: ...Alright. Anyway the story.**

**Me: Ah, and by the way! Sorry if it's not as good as previous chapters. This was an awful pain to write, really.  
...Maybe I shouldn't add what I just thought of...****...Now read. That's what you're getting paid for.**

**Christian: As far as I remember, they aren't getting paid at all.**

**Remeny: True.**

**Me: Well, duh! Here, I'll change that! *places tasty sugar-free cookies***

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Warrior Realm**_

"Chrom?"  
Narrowing his eyes as he tried making out the Tactician through the darkness and the snowstorm they were in, the prince gave Mykhail a questioning look. "Have you seen Sumia?"

"She found a Pegasus on our way here. She'll join later." Sighing, Mykhail ran a hand though his hair, nodding. Suddenly, they heard a sneeze from behind them, where they saw a freezing Lissa. Sighing again, the brown haired male took off his coat and gave it to her, getting surprised looks.

"I've been here when it was winter. And that without a coat. No harm done." He brushed them off, his eyes fixed on the wall separating Ferox from the other countries which slowly came in sight. He then narrowed his eyes.  
"…I have a bad feeling…"

Giving Mykhail a confused look, Chrom sighed but walking on, not questioning the man. "Milord?" His head spun, making the blue haired man look at his lieutenant. "Is everything alright, sir?"

He nodded. "I'm okay. Just a bit worried for the others." The Grand Knight smiled at his lord.

"No need to worry, Milord. They have been trained well and in case there is a dangerous mission, Major Phila will provide help." Chrom chuckled, smiling.

"You always have an eye on everything, don't you Frederick?" He then looked forward, his eyes fixated on the great wall as he was lost in thoughts, unaware of the fact that the older man really had made arrangements in fact that the Tactician in the capital tried something funny.

"Chrom!" Snapping out of his thoughts, the Lord's head spun to Mykhail, who had just spoken. "They are moving. Their soldiers are ready." The bluenette's eyes widened.

"Why?" Pushing his glasses up his nose, the Tactician shrugged; he didn't know either. "Hopefully it's just a coincidence. Ferox' warriors are…"

"They shouldn't be taken lightly, I know. On our travels, we've been here twice." The brown haired male bit his lip. "I'll think of a strategy in case there will be a fight." Chrom nodded, frowning. He still hoped that a fight wouldn't be necessary as the group approached the main door.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" Looking up, there was a woman in heavy armor, a Javelin in her hand. Standing on the wall right above the gate, withstanding the roaring storm, it seemed obvious that she was the group's leader. Emerging from the group, the blue haired leader spoke up.

"Prince Chrom of Ylisse and the shepherds! We want to speak with the Khan!" Grunting, the woman frowned at them, obviously not believing them.

"Yes, and I am the queen of Valm!" She hissed, obviously angry, shooting the blue haired man a glare. "I've seen enough bandits pretending to be Ylisseans. If you truly are the prince, then prove it the Feroxi way!" Turning her back to them, she stomped off. "Take care of them."

Taking a few quick steps forwards, Chrom raised his voice again. "Wait, miss! I ca-!" He was cut off as something yanked him back, tugging at his cape roughly. His back colliding with the snow covered ground, he felt a hand gripping his shoulder, pulling him up and away from the wall once more, only to see the Feroxi Knights Javelins pierce into the earth where he had stood mere seconds ago. He was then pulled up to his feet, facing the dark eyed Tactician.

"There are gates leading up onto the wall to the left and right. We'll take the left one first. Stay close to the wall so they can't get you with the Javelins. I already told most of the others before, just in case." Mykhail looked up. "There's no discussing with the Feroxi people. Only fighting." Nodding, the duo took off to join the rest of the group, leaving Lissa slightly behind.  
Only when the first door was taken, two scouts from the right door appeared, attacking the person nearest to them. Hearing the Cleric's high pitched scream, the group at the door noticed a Mercenary dashing towards her, followed by a Soldier.  
Then suddenly, something rushed down from the skies, landing on the Soldier as the princess barely dodged the attacking Mercenary and, on impulse, slammed her new Physic into his neck, killing him. The Soldier fell as well, the greyish-brown haired Pegasus Knight having arrived just in time – now accompanied by a Pegasus.

"Perfect timing, Sumia!" The group, hastily returning to the middle of the field, joined the two females.

"Please remind me of not letting any healers alone on the battlefield, would you?" The Tactician looked already slightly worn down, which was understandable as it already was quite late. "The other door now…" He fell into deep thoughts as the Pegasus Knight spoke up.

"From what I've seen, there are only two more over there. One of them was an Archer." He nodded, acknowledging her information.

"Sumia, you'll be staying here with Lissa. I'll do that as well." The two of them nodded. "Chrom, Stahl and Vaike, you go for the Archer. But watch out so you avoid his attacks. Frederick, you take the other one. I trust you to pick the right weapon. Miriel, you join him, but stay at a safe distance." Nodding, everyone did as said and Mykhail let himself fall on his rear, sighing.

"You alright?" Tiredly looking up at the females, he nodded.

"Just tired… Mona and I, we may have been on the road for all our lifes, but I've never experienced anything as exhausting as training with Frederick…" Placing his face in his hands, the Tactician rubbed his eyes, yawning silently.

"You'll grow used to that." The Pegasus Knight gave him a sympathetic smile. "Also, when he knows what to expect from you, he'll change the personal training to fit your physical conditions." Mykhail's head turned up to look at the woman, most of his face still hidden by his hands. "He might be a stern trainer, but he also is a good one." Getting up, the man nodded, smiling slightly.

"I'll keep that in mind." His gaze travelling to where the others went, he adjusted his glasses slightly. "It should be safe to join the others by now.

_**~~~…~~~…~~~**_

"Wonderful…"  
Eyeing the Tactician curiously as he joined the group after getting a look at the enemies on the wall, Chrom asked the question in everyones mind.

"How bad does it look for us?" Shaking his head slightly, sighing, the asked male gave the answer nobody really wanted to hear.

"Really bad, from what I can see. One Mercenary, one Barbarian, one Archer. Likely the same formation on the other side. Regular Steel weapons, besides the Barbarian. He has a Hammer." Getting confused looks, Mykhail sighed. "Archers are dangerous for flying units. Just guess what would happen if a Pegasus, Wyvern or Griffon gets an arrow to the wing. Especially high up in the sky." He looked at Sumia, noticing her seemingly slightly scared. "So Sumia has to stay behind, like before." Suddenly, the young Lord raised his voice.

"Okay, that makes sense, but what about the Hammer?" Getting some murmurs of agreement, Mykhail smiled slightly.

"Just wanted to say that. Hammers…" He paused, thinking of how to properly explain it. "There are many weapons which use certain… tricks. Like a Wyrmslayer, a very rare sword. Its blade has a special form making it able to get through the scales of Wyvern or the like at ease. Therefore, it's extremely dangerous for them." He got some nods as they understood his reasoning. Turning to Chrom, he continued. "Your Rapier, on the other hand, could be dangerous for horses and the like."

"How that? I mean, it's not that special…" Shaking his head, the tactician continued.

"I… don't really want to explain. It could be… a little disgusting." Seeing different kinds on their faces, from confusion to disgust, he continued his explanation. "Anyway, its thin yet stabile blade can also easily pierce through thin spots in heavy armor. And Hammers… Let's put it like this: Even though it's hard to explain how, as it needs some specific knowledge, they can also be harmful for people in heavy armor, so that you should keep them away of them." As he noticed that the others didn't get what he was trying to say, he came to the point. "People with heavy armor like Frederick."  
As the Tactician got astonished looks, an angered voice rang out.

"Are you saying that I should stay behind whilst Milord and the others are risking their lifes? I do not approve with this." Mykhail sighed for he knew this was coming, and he didn't want to discuss anything as tired as he already was from the whole day. There sure was the possibility of starting at the other door, but this would only cause more troubles in case that one Barbarian would reach them.

"What do you propose then? I'm open for ideas." The others gaped at him. Never before had they heard of a Tactician that consulted people not having studied strategy for advice. "See, I would've thought about luring him closer so that we can take him down as fast as possible. The only problem would be how to do it." Some nods in agreement, his plan was better than anything they could think of this quickly. His eyes wandering through the surroundings, he suddenly got an idea.  
"How about this: I'll go in and try luring one of them down here. As soon as possible, you guys take that one down." Noticing skeptical looks, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll be careful. Just hide down here."  
He then went up the stairs, (purposely) stumbling at the last one, and entered the enemies view. Inhaling ever so slightly, he put up his best façade, trying to look scared, yet staying completely cool. "C-can't we… talk this through?" Two of the three having noticed him, the Mercenary and the Barbarian, slowly walked closer to the glasses wearing male, weapons ready, making the Tactician take some steps back. "P-please, c-can't we talk like… mature adults?" The two Feroxi seemed slightly displeased at this statement and sped up slightly as Mykhail paced down the stairs, reaching the snow covered earth and quickly getting some more distance between himself and his followers, then kneeling down to look as if he had just fallen, his back to the others.  
Hearing the two men following him come down the staircase, he slowly rose to his feet again and, as their feet met the snow, he turned, giving them a cocky grin. "No? Alright then."  
On cue, the attack commenced, leaving the men unable to react before already taking lethal injuries. As they fell, the Tactician eyed the hammer suspiciously before taking it from the corpse. "I think me might need this more than him." The others eyed him slightly as he handed Vaike the weapon, before they suddenly heard more footsteps coming closer. In less than a second, more commands followed.  
"Frederick, Stahl, Vaike, Sumia! The other door! Lissa, fall behind! Chrom, Miriel, you stay with me." As the others quickly followed his orders, the man chuckled slightly. "If they believe mere strength can handle everything… Let's teach them their lesson, eh?" The other two nodded and, as the archer came in sight, Miriel and Chrom directly attacked, distracting the Feroxi as he dodged well enough to not get gravely injured, before then a iron sword pierced through his chest from behind.

"Well, that was that." Waving his sister closer, Chrom eyed the passage leading up the wall. "What now, Myke?" Said man chuckled slightly at the usage of that nickname, before answering.

"Uh, go up and take out the general? The others should be able to handle that." Nodding in agreement, the group of four then paced up the stairs, Lissa staying hidden as the other three ran towards the blonde woman that currently was distracted as the second group of four fought on the opposite site, the archer already being defeated.  
Casting a Fire Spell, hurting her, the red haired mage drew her attention just before Chrom's Rapier pierced through the armor on her shoulder. Grunting in pain and falling to her knees as the prince drew back, she eyed her attacker and, upon noticing the brand on his shoulder, her eyes widened.

"Y-you really are…! I-I'm sorry, Sir." Slowly and shakily rising to her feet, her voice echoed through the field. "Seize the fighting!" The other Feroxis (which actually was only one more) stopped all fighting actions, turning to the heavily bleeding woman. "Forgive me, Sir. I'll escort you to the Khan." Eyeing the wound, Mykhail spoke up again.

"Uh, shouldn't we… Lissa!" Rushing towards the others, the Cleric gasped as she saw the wounded woman. "You should know what to do." Nodding, she raised her staff, warm light engulfing the woman, her wounds healing, as Chrom spoke.

"Could we… rest before that audience? It's already really late and we need some sleep." Thinking for a bit, the Knight nodded.

"There are some spare rooms for visitors in the eastern palace. You can stay there."

* * *

**Me: This really was exhausting... Rem?**

**Remeny: The pairings? Right now, Sully and Miriel also are taken. Also, the mistress would take suggestions for the partner of Mykhail, although it might not be likely that she'll use them.**

**Me: ...Be glad that I won't tie you up for this. At least this time.****But yeah, I need a partner for Myke. Unlike Mona, I have no idea who to pair him with. And for plot reasons that I will not explain, I need his wife to be someone he could marry in the first timeline.**

**Christian: So that was everything for now.**

**Me: Yep, leave a review if you like. Constructive criticism is welcome!**


	14. Mykhail

**Me: Here we are again!**

**Christian: Again... again... again... again...**

**Me: Thanks for the dramatic atmosphere, Chris. Anyway, two things!**  
**First: Cake! *gives everyone some cake* And happy B-Day Rem.**

**Remeny: Today is my birthday?**

**Me: 1st of April, girl. So it is.**  
**Second: Another interview-thingy.**

**Mykhail: You should know I'm still fed up. First we gotta fight that late, and now you're not even letting me sleep?**

**Me: Deal with it. I've made it through a night with 5 minutes of sleep.**  
**Also, you won't have to fight in the next chapter, so no harm done.**

**Mykhail: *sigh* Now what do you want?**

**Me: Talk about the story, duh! Now what do you think of it by now?**

**Mykhail: I actually rather want to know why you kept that philanderer with my sister. *glares***

**Me: Oh, don't you worry about that. I've got some plans regarding relationships. *giggles***

**Mykhail: You've got WHAT?! *grabs collar***

**Me: He'sgonnakeephishandsoffyoursister!**

**Mykhail: *sets down* Good.**

**Me: I still need some pairings though... Especially for you.**

**Mykhail: Wait, WHAT?!**

**Me: I still need a future wife for you, yes.**

**Mykhail: ...And I don't get a word in this?!**

**Me: Nope! Nobody gets. This is love!**

**Mykhail: ...I'd rather call it forced marriage...**

**Me: You're just jealous that Chrom already has a future wife and you don't.**

**Mykhail: Who? Sumia? She kinda seems to like him...**

**Me: Well, she does, but no.**  
**...Out of the suggestions I got, most people wanted you to get together with her... But I'm still indifferent.**

**Mykhail: Well, who is it?**

**Me: My lips are sealed.**

**Mykhail: Then who else also has a future spouse?**

**Me: Out of those you know? Sully, Kellam and Mo- *slaps hands on mouth***

**Mykhail: *eerie glare* What did you just want to say...?**

**Me: That's... uh... Someone you don't know yet! Sorry for the mistake.**

**Mykhail: Do you think you can fool me?**

**Me: ...****Rem! Save me!**

**Remeny: *steps between***

**Mykhail: You are leaving my sister alone!**

**Christian: Technical problems, please wait.**

* * *

**Me: Sorry for the wait. As I'm... busy now, we gotta end this for now.  
Bye~!  
**


	15. Chapter in Between 2

**Me: Here we go~!**

**Remeny: Took you some time.**

**Me: I know. *pouts* School, laziness/writers block, and mostly my Lunatic+ run in Awakening and other games kept me from writing.****Sorry.**

**Christian: Chapte-! *gets interrupted***

**Me: Wait! I still wanted to explain something.  
Remember when I wrote someone talking bold and between these * once?**

**Remeny: That was in chapter 1, and it was Moniya speaking. What the mistress wants to say is that this is supposed to mark someone speaking in the "old language of the 9th and 10th game of the series. It will only be depicted that way if the lines are of importance and someone capable of understanding (by now, the only such character is Moniya) is present.**

**Me: Yep. Thanks for doing your job, Rem.  
The other thing was... You sure noticed that at times, certain words are written in Capitals whilst they shouldn't. This is actually used to show weapons (though I might stop that) and classes.  
Imagine: There is a character in the Mercenary-class and another one (e.g. a Sage) being a mercenary. If I wouldn't write the class in caps, this might cause some misunderstandings.**

**Remeny: On another note, our mistress decided Mykhail's pairing.**

**Me: Right, but like Moniya, I won't tell you anything.  
Chris!**

**Christian: Chapter time~!**

* * *

_**Chapter in Between 2:**_

Walking the hallways of Ylisstol's castle, the Exalt suddenly was greeted with the sight of a certain pink clothed blonde rushing about the palace.  
"Maribelle, is something the matter?" Her head turning towards Emmeryn, she offered a small curtsey before speaking up.

"I don't mean to bother you, your grace, but have you seen Moniya? I was teaching her something about noble pursuits when she suddenly disappeared…" The older blonde shook her head, not having seen the Tactician.

"I'll inform her in case I see her." The Exalt retorted, smiling, before the younger female took off, her ringlets swaying back and forth as she went.  
The Sage continued her walk before she caught a glimpse of brown hair behind some pot plants. Walking up to the female hiding behind she addressed the matter she spoke about with Maribelle. "Is there a reason you are hiding there? Maribelle is looking for you." Her head snapping up, the brown haired girl's eyes met turquoise ones. The girl shot up, adjusting her glasses as she did, and then spoke up, blushing ever so slightly.

"I… was taking a break." Moniya sighed. "Training with both Sully and Maribelle sure is exhausting, and not even getting a break…" Sighing once more, the young woman slumped forwards slightly, nearly dropping her glasses as she did. Her face shot up again as she heard the older woman speak up.

"Do you want me to show you our library? Most people don't go there." Nodding excitedly, the brown haired woman followed as Emmeryn lead the way, talking a bit as they went, mostly about their siblings.  
Arriving at the library, Moniya gave her a wide smile before she spoke up.

"Thanks!" She then entered, visibly excited like a small child in a candy shop, making the blonde smile as she continued her walk. The younger female on the other hand was stunned, eyes wide as she saw the inside of the room. The library simply was huge, three meters high bookshelves as far as the eye can see, some even higher.  
Rushing around, she quickly found sections on strategy and magic, and even some books so old that they were still written in the old language. Taking some of the books that specifically caught her attention, with more than half of them were among the latter, she quickly took off into a more hidden part of the room and started reading the one strategy book she had bought, even though she already knew most of it besides effect certain surrounding may have in battle. Scanning her surroundings, Moniya found a small desk with an inkpot, a quill and a pile of paper and, after swiftly walking over, started taking some notes on this topic, which she then placed in a pocket of her coat.  
She then moved on to the books she took with her, first flipping through the pages but as she knew the proven facts, she quickly brushed it off, now taking one of the books in the old language, which looked like they haven't been touched in centuries besides for maintenance (which was likely regarding nearly nobody still understood it). Dusting off the first one, she noticed it was mostly about swordplay.  
"Interesting…" Checking the index, the girl quickly found out that this book was not only surprisingly detailed, but also included even more than the currently known styles and swords. Deeply impressed, she quickly glanced around before hiding the book inside her coat and going on to the next book opening it and noticing it was about magic. It was as detailed as the first one, containing an awful lot of lost knowledge, mostly about something similar to the weapon triangle, how elemental magic actually was called "anima", "light magic" and how spells actually were made. Taking this one as well, she looked around, muttering to herself.  
Checking the last one, she noticed it was most likely a novel. She might need something for when she has nothing to do, so she took it as well.  
_***I'll… return them later…***_ Stretching, she sighed as she went for the exit. "Note to myself, don't forget to do so."

_**~~~…~~~…~~~**_

"Where have you been?"  
Moniya froze as she heard Maribelle's voice from behind her, followed by the clacking of her boots hitting the stone floor. Turning around, she rubbed her neck, smiling sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" She trailed off. "I needed a break. I couldn't concentrate properly. Too exhausted." The blonde huffed, putting her hands in her hips.

"Make sure it won't happen again." She stepped up to the younger female, eyeing her. "As you don't seem exhausted at the moment, we should return to our lesson, shall we?" The noble smirked mischievously, making Moniya sigh.

"Alright." She smiled slightly, muttering to herself, trying to cheer herself up. "It will be helpful one day… You will be thankful one day…"

**…the same day**_**, in the eastern palace of Ferox…**_

"I'll let the Khan know that you're here. Just wait a bit."  
The blonde Knight, Raimi as others called her, went off, leaving the group containing Frederick, Lissa, Chrom and Mykhail in the throne room.

"Why isn't the Khan here…?" Lissa's whining breaking through the silence, she quickly caught the other ones' attention. Drowsily rubbing his eyes, Mykhail answered the question.

"Likely training. Strength is the only thing important in Ferox." He let out a yawn, before adding, "Well, that and maybe money," before leaning against Chrom slightly. He would either have to get more or get accustomed to less sleep, as he was useless like this. The lord chuckled slightly.

"Maybe you should get yourself some rest. We can handle this, you know?" The Tactician shook his head, rubbing his eyes once more, before resting it on the bluenette's shoulder.

"If I sleep too long, I won't be able to work properly in the morning at all. That…" Another yawn escaped his lips. "That wouldn't be too nice, eh?" His eyes slowly closed only to snap open, the man straightening completely, at the sound of a female voice.

"So you're the Ylisseans?" Heads turning towards the source, the four of them saw a tanned, blonde woman, a Hero, Mykhail noted, coming towards them. "I'm sorry for that at the wall."

"You're the-?" Chrom stopped, realizing that he would sound quite rude. "Are you the Khan?" She nodded.

"Flavia, the East-Khan of Ferox." She frowned, before returning to the previous topic. "Plegian bandits attacked our walls, pretending to be Ylisseans. We found documents on one of their leaders proving that." The prince grimaced, anger welling up within him.

"These damn…" He stopped again, in thought of sounding inappropriate. "Sorry, I shouldn't talk like this." At this, the woman broke into laughter, successfully snapping the Tactician out of his rather uncomfortable memories.

"In Ferox, we prefer open words. Goddamn dastards they are!" Mykhail chuckled, Lissa giving him a curious glance as Chrom's frown grew deeper.

"Well, then teach your guards some goddamn manners!" Flavia again laughed heartfully.

"I already like you!" She then grew serious again. "I know why you're here, but I can't provide you any troops. I'm not in the position to do so." As three of the group seemed confused, Mykhail spoke up, using his knowledge of the place once more.

"So… The West-Khan won the last tournament?" The questioning glances now on him, Mykhail explained. "Every few years, there's a tournament between the two Khans. The winner gets to decide on external stuff. Like, whom to support and whom to fight." The East-Khan smiled slightly.

"Someone's done their researches. Yes, I lost the last one, but…" She stopped, getting the others' attention. "The next tournament is in a month and I still need a champion for East Ferox." Mykhail's eyes widened, a smirk growing on his face. "My rude guard said you're good at fighting, and if you win for me, you'll get the soldiers you need." Mykhail nodded understandingly, looking at Chrom.

"Uh… Sounds fine, I guess?" Obviously relieved and sure that she'll win this time, Flavia bid goodbye, having to arrange a few things now that she had her team.  
Turning to his tactician, Chrom spoke up again. "You'll have to explain that tournament to me."  
The youngest male chuckled as they went off.

"Sure will, don't worry."

* * *

**Me: This is it. Our fina- Wait, no. Wrong line.  
Well this was it for now... I can't really think of anything else so.**

**Remeny: Farewell until our next meeting.**

**Me: Yeah.**

**Christian: Bye~!**

* * *

**Edit:**

**Also, I wanted to thank y'all for reading, following, reviewing and all that stuff. You probably can imagine how much it means to me.****...If you can't, an awful lot.**

**So thanks everyone!**


	16. Moniya

**Christian: It's nice to meet you~!**

**Remeny: Welcome back.**

**Christian: Back? They were here already?**

**Remeny: Yes, multiple times.**

**Me: …Anyway…  
New stuff?**

**Christian: Really?**

**Remeny: …I believe we should go for now.**

**Me: Yeah. I doubt I'll need you this time, so do whatever you want.**

**Remeny: As you command.**

**Moniya: Uh… what was that just now?**

**Me: Never mind. They are my assistants.  
…Somehow…**

**Moniya: I… see? So why do you need me?**

**Me: Talking. About the story. Anything caught your eye?**

**Moniya: Hm… What's with that mark on my hand?**

**Me: Not that. Tell me what you believe will happen!**

**Moniya: Alright, alright! *thinks*  
…So something's going to go wrong. You wouldn't ask like this if it wouldn't.**

**Me: Clever girl.**

**Moniya: Myke and Chrom would've already come back if something hadn't stopped them. Or at least sent a message that they'll return soon.  
So something went wrong.**

**Me: Nothing grave, but yeah.  
Stuff you'd like to see happening? Anything that confuses you?**

**Moniya: Why did Key just help me like that? Even twice!**

**Me: …That's another story, girl…**

**Moniya: Could we at least meet again so I can ask and properly thank him?**

**Me: *smiling* Eager to meet him again, are we~? Oh the beauty of love…**

**Moniya: N-NO! *blushed* It's just formality… *blushes more* And something seems… off.  
I doubt we'll meet again, though.**

**Me: Quite some intuition you got there.**

**Moniya: How do you mean that?**

**Me: Nevermind.  
Anyway… This story needs more romance. I gotta work on getting future spouses together.**

**Moniya: Wait, you're doing WHAT?!**

**Me: CALL ME THE SHIPPING LORD! Mwahahahaha!  
But yeah, I'll get some – most – shepherds spouses. But most couples aren't together as of now…**

**Moniya: …Wait, was that why Myke complained after his interview?**

**Me: Well, he wasn't quite fond of this… He even tried attacking me!**

**Moniya: So you let that woman beat him up.**

**Me: …Something like that, yeah.**

**Moniya: What even did you say to make him that angry?**

**Me: I /might/ have hinted that you'll get married too…**

**Moniya: *blushes* …W-w-w-what…?  
W-w-who…?**

**Me: Secret~**

**Moniya: *blushes more***

**Me: But I actually already know most couples that'll happen. **

**Moniya: And that are…?**

**Me: I could tell you the characters that still are alone. Or at least of these you know.  
That would be Vaike and Ricken.**

**Moniya: …Alright then?  
Wait. Virion gets a wife?**

**Me: He's quite nice, to be honest.  
…Except for his philandering.**

**Moniya: Well, I can't wait to actually see that.**

**Me: Well, you'll have to get through his philandering first if you really want to.  
…Poor Virion…**

**Moniya: …Why?**

**Me: Mykhail.**

**Moniya: …Is there something with my brother?**

**Me: …You'll see what I'm talking about. Worst case in chapter 6.**

**Moniya: Chapter 6?**

**Me: …  
I should really stop spoiling…**

***bell sound***

**Me: It seems out time's over…  
Rem!**

**Remeny: You called, mistress?**

**Me: Would you be so kind to take Mona outside?**

**Remeny: Very well.**

**Me: I'll see you next time, then~  
Bye, everyone~**


	17. Paralogue 2

**Me: Whale then. Here we go again?**

**Remeny: Indeed. You did take your time.**

**Me: I know... School. Not easy to write.  
I guess I shouldn't talk myself outta this.**

**Christian: At least there's some progress!**

**Me: Heh. I guess that's true.**

**Christian: And you did wor-**

**Me: No spoiling, Chris!**

**Christian: Ah! Sorry~**

**Remeny: Anyway, the new chapter for you to enjoy.  
*whispers* Whatever "enjoy" means.**

**Me: Or maybe not.****Although I would really like to hear some opinions! Or even theories on certain new characters.****...Even though, you might start reacting to them anyway in some chapters...**

* * *

_**Paralogue 2:**_

"Where're we goin' again?"  
Looking at the seemingly displeased blonde, Mykhail was about to explain, yet the red haired Mage reacted faster, raising her voice.

"At the palace, people assume that a village being ravaged by brigands, and we are expected to find out if this assumption is true." Mykhail nodded, adding some information.

"The merchants aren't selling anything from there, and no matter how much we regularly train, we need the experience from real fights. Also, having the sympathy of the inhabitants might help us later on." Vaike nodded, getting the point of their travel, before breaking into laughter.

"Teach knew that! The Vaike only wanted to test y'all!" He sneezed. "…But it sure is cold, ain't it?" Sighing, Mykhail took off his coat, throwing it at the older male, taking him aback.

"You know, you could have just worn a coat. Or a shirt, maybe." Looking at the Tactician, Vaike opened his mouth to complain, yet getting interrupted by the very same person raising his hand. "I can deal with the cold, I've experienced even colder weather." Sighing, the older male threw his arm around Mykhail's shoulders and pulled him closer, disheveling his brown hair using his fist and laughing loudly.

"Alright boy! If ya really wanna do ol' Teach a favor, I guess I'll let that slide." He kept laughing whilst Mykhail chuckled, getting a confused look from the red-head.

"Curious."

_**~~~…~~~…~~~**_

Exhaling deeply, Lissa soon voiced complaints about the length of their travel like gods know how many times before.  
"Are we there soon?"

The blue haired prince groaned, her constant complaining annoying him as well as some others. "Lissa, I already told you that we're almost there!" The blonde huffed, not satisfied with this answer.

"Yeah, but for how many times? We still aren't there!" Chrom sighed, a rather quiet chuckle reaching his ear. Turning around, he saw a certain brown haired male coming up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"We're there when we're there. Complaining won't do any good, it just makes the journey seem longer." The princess sighed.

"Alright…"

The group proceeded, walking a path leading through forest area, when suddenly a man came into their view, kneeling at the side of the road. Coming closer, they saw a wounded Soldier lying in the grass beside him. While the Cleric quickly treated the latter, Chrom went for the other male.

"What happened?" The man was delighted as he noticed that they were a group of fine soldiers; they sure were capable of helping him.

"There is a village nearby, and it's an important place for us merchants. But for some time, brigands made it impossible get through. It's bad for the business as well as for the villagers." Chrom frowned, angered by bad news, and only noticed the Tactician coming up to him as he placed his hand on the prince's shoulder. Looking up, he saw a smile on Mykhail's face.

"Guess there's work for us, eh?" The Lord nodded before sighing.

"How do you actually manage to be positive all the time?" A chuckle escaped the brown haired's lips.

"Well, being grumpy won't do any good, and I'd rather spread a positive atmosphere than a gloomy one."

_**~~~…~~~…~~~**_

"Brigands. Brigands everywhere."  
A sigh escaped the Tacticians mouth, him being annoyed by all the fighting lately, even though it mostly was training. Even Lissa focused on it a lot, even though hers mostly was healing training injuries and running to increase her stamina. Not to mention that Frederick decided that it was necessary to double everyones training, except for Lissa.  
Even though he tried to stay positive, it was hardly possible when all of his muscles are aching, it's cold (even though he was already used to it and had experienced worse) and their routine was as varied as prison food. On top of that, he was even starting to get headache.  
Focusing on the two of them that were nearby, he motioned the others closer.  
"We gotta warn the villagers. Sumia, that would be your job." Motioning at a river nearby, he continued explaining. "Stay on this side of the river until you're right next to the village. There are too many Archers on the other side." The woman nodded and Mykhail continued his instructions.  
"Frederick, join her. There's an Archer on this side as well. You could catch up with the rest faster than anyone else, so that should work best. But there's a Barbarian as well, so watch out." Silently agreeing, the man mounted his horse.  
"The rest gets rid of the brigands on the other side of the river. That should be about 3 Archers, a Mage and 4 Barbarians."

"That's an awful lot for the five of us…" The blue haired prince frowned at the amount of enemies, whilst the Tactician adjusted his glasses, chuckling.

"Not as they're positioned." Getting their attention, he quickly explained.  
"Most of them are isolated. No more enemies should be close. Taking them down would be fairly easy. For now, at least.  
Chrom, you take down the Mage. When you did that, watch out nobody reaches Lissa. The rest pushes forward. Only attack in groups. Stahl, Miriel, you work together. Vaike, you're with me."

Having understood, the group parted and took off.

_**~~~…~~~…~~~**_

"Huh, that ain't hard."  
Mykhail turned to the blonde as he spoke, or rather boasted. "Well, the Vaike's their opponent after all. Sure as hell they'd never stand a chance!" He then roared in laughter as Mykhail resisted the urge to slap his forehead. This man had almost got himself killed multiple times because he never cared to pay enough attention.  
His gaze moving around the fight, he quickly caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar figure which apparently got attacked by multiple enemies.

"Where…?" Ignoring the question where they came from, he quickly raised his voice.  
"Someone's in trouble!" Not paying attention to the blonde, he quickly rushed over to see a woman being under attack, two Barbarians and an Archer attacking.  
He also noticed that while Frederick was on his way to catch up, Sumia hadn't crossed the river yet. _'At least someone able to use their brain enough to not commit suicide.'_  
He took off towards the woman, as did the Barbarians, one of them quickly dispatched by the woman's Killing Edge, yet she got hurt in progress as she wasn't able to dodge the second brigand's attack in time. Swiftly dodging the man's following attacks, she was able to buy Mykhail the time he needed to reach her, but she was unaware of the Archer aiming at her.  
The moment the woman's sword pierced through the enemy's bare chest, he released his arrow, aiming at the unknowing red-head's throat.  
Mere seconds before it would have hit her, the Tactician, all but unaware, reached her and quickly pulled her out of the way, the arrow barely missing them both. Rushing towards the man, Mykhail wasn't fast enough to kill him.  
A Fire spell suddenly hitting the Archer, quickly followed by Stahl's Iron Sword, the man fell in almost no time.

"Thanks, dear. That was close." Turning around, the Tactician saw the woman, a Trickster, come closer, a smile on her face. He smiled slightly, noticing that the woman looks familiar.

"No problem. …but…" He trailed off, motioning Sumia that it's save to come. "Could it be that we met before?" Thinking, the smile left her face.

"No, not that I could recall." The smile then returned to her face. "Maybe you met someone of my family. We all look quite similar." Brushing it off, he turned to the others, noticing movement across another arm of the river.  
"What…? Guys?" Getting their attention, he quickly voiced his thoughts. "There are more of them."

"Should I go check it out?" His head turning towards the Pegasus Knight, he shook his head and gestured to the Staff, a Physic, strapped to her waist.

"Just take the Staff to Lissa. There could be another Archer." Nodding, Sumia left for the Cleric while the man gestured everyone closer.  
"We stay in back, everyone. Use the covers of the forest and _act in teams_." He sent Vaike a glare. "Frederick, could you watch out for Sumia again? Take down any Archer you might find, but watch out for other enemies.  
Stahl, you protect Lissa. In case too many enemies come close, take her and bring her to the village if needs be." The man nodded and helped the princess up his horse as Mykhail directed his attention to the last three of the group, brows furrowed as he was deep in thoughts. Entwining his fingers, he rested his forehead against his knuckles, eyes tightly shut.  
_'Either Chrom goes with Vaike, which would make fighting more difficult for them both, Miriel goes with Vaike, who would likely leave her without protection, rushing into a fight or…'_ He sighed.  
"Chrom, you and Miriel go together. Watch out that as less enemies as possible attack her." Pressing his eyes shot in annoyance, he spoke again. "Vaike, you come with me. And _**only act when I say so**_!"  
The Fighter laughed, only adding to the brown haired man's annoyance.

"Dontcha worry, Myke! Ol' Teach's gonna be alright!" Clenching his teeth, the Tactician stifled a groan. He was seriously fed up.  
Just before he was about to snap, the Lord interfered.

"Vaike, just do as Mykhail says." The blonde groaned and was about to argue when Chrom raised his voice again. "That's an order."  
Obviously displeased, the man nodded.

"Any way I can help you, sweetie?" Turning around, there stood the red-haired Trickster, both her Killing Edge and a Mend Staff ready.  
At first tempted to just join the woman to save his nerves, he quickly brushed the off; it would be stupid. This woman clearly didn't need much help in combat.

"You heard the general instructions?" The woman nodded. "Alright, that's all you'd need to know. Be careful." A smile on her face, her response followed swiftly.

"Understood. No need to worry, I still need my life for making profit." He chuckled slightly, a small smile adorning his features. If only a certain blonde would listen half as much to him than this woman did without knowing him.  
Suddenly, footsteps reached the Tactician's ear, making him quietly direct the other's attention to their attackers. Quickly hiding in the woods, the group drawing closer, an Archer as Mykhail predicted, a Mage, a Barbarian and a Berserker, apparently their boss, was unaware of the malice watching their very movements from the shadows.  
Their weapons ready, group waited for a signal. As the enemies were unknowingly surrounded, a whistle could be heard, and quickly the Pegasus Knight dashed down from the hideout the white, cloudy skies provided, impaling the Archer and quickly returning to the skies as the rest of the group attacked, leaving the enemies unable to react fast enough.

First, the Mage fell to Frederick, his Silver Lance piercing his ribcage, making blood quill out of his wounds, while the Barbarian got struck by Mykhail's Thunder, the electricity immobilizing him for a moment, making Vaike able to bury his Iron Axe deep in the man's shoulder. Forcefully pulling it out, he buried the Axe in the Barbarian's stomach as he clutched his injured shoulder. He then fell, blood seeping out of him as he breathed heavily, obviously in agonizing pain.  
The Trickster catching the attention of the Berserker, the man raised his voice.

"No matter how much y'all try, ya can't beat me! Victory's in my name!" Nearly groaning out loud, Mykhail watched as Chrom rushed towards the man from behind, thrusting his Falchion through this chest before pulling it upwards, turning around while cutting through his flesh, the man falling to the ground, muttering some last words before his death.  
Burying the tip of his Iron Sword into the ground, Mykhail steadied himself as his knees were close to giving away from exhaustion.

"Alright then. This should be it." He breathed heavily, his throat hurting from the cold air. "Uh… so what now?"

"It is getting late. We should rest at an inn in the village and return tomorrow." Mykhail nodded, Frederick's suggestion sounded perfect to him.  
As the group headed there, the merchant, who had followed them as soon as he noticed that it's save around, approached them.

"You got rid of the bandits?" Mykhail, who was the last one of the group, turned to face him. "I thank you so very much! You saved both me and the village!" The Tactician brushed it off.

"Think nothing of it. It's kinda our job." He trailed off for a moment. "…At least from what I seen in this group." The merchant nodded as the Trickster woman approached, unnoticed.

"Thank you nonetheless. You still saved many lifes. And my income as well, to be honest." The Tactician chuckled slightly as the other male returned to his wares, aiming for the same village the shepherds were currently walking towards.  
Suddenly, a voice rang out behind him.

"Are you alright?" He spun around to see an apparently worried Chrom. He tiredly forced an authentic smile onto his face.

"No, just talking to that merchant. Seemed quite glad." The younger man chuckled, running a hand through his brown hair and adjusting his glasses as he did.

"It seems you didn't only help me, but my colleagues as well." The two men turned to see the redhead, but before they could tell her that it's fine, she raised her voice once more.  
"I'm the secret seller, Anna. And as a thanks, I'll make sure you'll get a special price next time you visit one of our shops!"

"Could it be that we met before? You seem… familiar." She chuckled upon Mykhail's question, shaking her head.

"You must have met one of my relatives. We all look quite similar." He nodded, understanding, albeit still confused as her name did seem familiar.

"I… see." He looked at Chrom, brushing off his confusion. "Well, I guess we should go then, shall we?"

* * *

**Remeny: So how much do you already have?**

**Me: Don't talk to me like I wasn't working! Because I am!**

**Remeny: The question...**

**Christian: Guys, they're back.**

**Me: Wha-? *****clears throat*  
Ah, welcome back! How did you like the chapter? I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me your opinion.**

**Remeny: Anyway, there's nothing to actually tell you anymore, so I guess we should take our leave for now.**

**Me: Uh... Yeah. Bye~!**

**Christian: See ya~!**


	18. Lissa and Frederick (special guest)

Me: With "perfect" timing for some If fangirling, I decided to update once more!  
...If anyone cares...  
Anyway, this update's gonna be pretty special! I not only have two characters here, but also some... help for fangirling? I guess that works.

Rebecca: I have so much hype, it cannot be contained by mere words. The story, the character designs, the new weapon triangle! It's so beautiful!

Lissa: ...Do you have any idea what they're talking about?

Frederick: I fear I do not, milady.

Me: Oh, yeah! There might be... some not knowing about that!  
The FE series is getting a new game, and it already looks awesome as hell!

Lissa: And what makes it "awesome as hell"?

Me: A lot. For once, we have a more complex weapon triangle!

Rebecca: And I do have to wonder... how hyped are you that you can finally live your dream of being a butler in battle Freddy bear?

Frederick: Explain.

Me: Well, we have a new class called "Butler" as well as the female counterpart, the "Maid".  
...Both using Staves and "Hidden weapons" such as knifes and shuriken.

Lissa: ...Shuriken?

Me: Never mind.  
Also, the weapon triangle got changed! ...Mostly expanded.

Frederick: How so?

Rebecca: Well sadly Freddy bear you don't beat the weapon triangle now.

It goes like this:  
"Sword and Magic" beat "Lances and Hidden Weapons" beat "Axes and Bows" beat "Sword and Magic"  
Simple, right? Which means Lissa can't go on rampages murdering everyone with magic. But it also means people like Chrom will be more useful!

Frederick: I see. This could prove to be helpful if used correctly.

Me: Yep. And an arrow to the knee if you don't. A double edged sword! Me likey!  
...If they'd just add the Trinity of Magic...  
Also, Pegasus Knights stay female-exclusive!

Rebecca: And the trinity of magic within that? I'm just glad magic isn't OP now.  
Still weapon durability is gone... again... I'm happy personally. I have a good reason to use my bronze swords now! What if things get hairy? That's why I carry my Levin sword!

Frederick: Trinity of Magic?

Me: Also known as the Magic triangle. Basically a weapon triangle for magic.

Lissa: That existed?!

Rebecca: Yes Lissa! There was once a magical time where Thunder was not spammed... ah glorious days...  
Oh and Dark Magic wasn't super strong, take that Tharja!

Me: Yeah. In quite some games.  
...I like the version of Radiant Dawn best.

Frederick: By the way, what exactly do you mean by "Pegasus Knights stay female exclusive"? No male in Ylisse or Valm would think of riding a Pegasus!

Rebecca: Really Frederick? Next you'll tell me you don't believe in male Manaketes...

Frederick: There were male Manaketes?

Me: Bantu. And how do you think there still are young fullblood Manaketes if there weren't any male ones?  
Also, the Avatar can use Dragonstones.  
...And there might be males riding Pegasi. There's a new class called Pegasus Warrior.

Frederick: I... see.

Rebecca: Bantu... he was great for banter.  
Though they don't seem to be able to use them all the time from screenshots... maybe they need to learn to control their power first?

Me: Maybe...  
But who cares about gameplay? Let's discuss plot and characters!

Rebecca: Yeah! Like Nyx! We don't know much about her but she looks so cool! Or Rinka!  
Still which side are you thinking of choosing?

Me: Ah, yeah... We can either choose treason route 1, where we choose to abandon the ones kidnapping us at about 4 and raising us for our real family, or we can choose treason route 2, where we betray our family for our kidnappers!  
And we'd have the third route, in which we just say screw you and join neither!

Lissa: Wait, what?!

Me: ...The fact that both are at war doesn't make it better...  
...I'll go for Hoshido, though. At first, at least. They have Rinka and Tsubaki. And I'll get Joker anyway.  
How about you, Becca?

Rebecca: I have to stick to my loyalty with this. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the Hoshido family, I feel awful for leaving my family... but I barely know them. I can't imagine turning around to Elise (Nohr little sister) saying that the person she had grown up with was leaving her for basically strangers. I get the sense the Hoshido family would understand.  
...Plus classic Fire Emblem difficulty! Yay!

Me: Well... I still believe that there would be strong bonds between the Avatar and the Hoshidan family, as the scene where Hinoka cries against your chest wouldn't make that much sense.  
Anyway... Character hyping.  
And ermahgod, Rinka looks hawt!  
...Kagerou actually does, too. And Leon looks awfully young on the Famitsu and Dengeki artworks.

Rebecca: Fair point. They both clearly love you. ...Why must you make me feel so guilty game!  
What about Garon? He's clearly an awesome character that's not evil! Or ...that queen that we don't have a name for. I hope it isn't just super black and white with them.  
Joker seems like he'll be cool. I believe his Japanese voice actor is the Undertaker from Black Butler? If that's true that would be awesome!

Lissa: *whispers* Do you know what they're talking about?

Frederick: I fear I don't have the slightest clue.

Me: I don't know, since I don't know a lot about VAs.  
And I really hope it's not too black/white. Let's see how my retelling of If will end!  
And from his description, Joker seems awfully cool! And Suzukaze appears to be really nice!  
Then again, I'm curious about Rinka... I knew she's awesome from the very beginning!

Rebecca: Oh? Well your voice is by Kate Higgins Lissa! ...Which means nothing to you.  
If it does turn out awful IS was nice enough to make it a meme in and of itself:  
Fire Emblem If...we cared.  
Still it should be cool! What do you think about Nyx? Possibly the new Tharja? ...I really hope not.

Lissa: ...Alright?

Me: *chuckles* Well, if we cared about If having potential to be great... Well, we do. It sure has potential.  
About Nyx... As she really looks quite a lot like Tharja, I doubt they'll have too much character similarity.  
...Honestly, I don't understand why people are like "This is the next Tharja" or "That's the next Cordelia" or something like that. I've never ever seen two characters that are exactly alike in IS games. Never.  
Chrom and Lucina are the two most similar, but they have some major differences as well.  
...And Chrom's denser than a diamond.

Rebecca: I know. Though now the Chrom fangirls shall descend and kill us both.  
It's probably because they have such similar designs. I have high hopes for Nyx though, I like her.

Me: Just as I like Rinka and Tsubaki.  
...Although I do not wish for them to be like their Awakening lookalike. I don't need that. Especially since the same thing does never work twice on me.  
And just let them come. I am ready. *draws Astra*

Rebecca: Yeah, I'm sure they won't. IS has already shown they're willing to take chances. The fact this isn't Awakening 2.0 shows that.

Me: Honestly, I doubt we need more Awakening... It already has a manga! With two chapters Lucina!  
And really, we now have more ground classes with Lances! And...  
The hype has no end...  
I just wonder how Aqua and the Avatar ended up on opposite sides...

Rebecca: Perhaps they were simply trading royalty to avoid war? I don't know...  
Any ideas Lissa? You're a royal after all! Maybe you know something!

Lissa: M-maybe...? I don't think Chrom or Emm would do that, though...

Me: I considered that as well, but why did they take the middle sibling then?  
We'll see, I guess.  
Anything else? I kinda can't think of anything anymore...

Rebecca: The hair accessories are cool I guess? I can't think of much else either...

Me: Yeah... I really want more information about the customization possibilities!  
But other than that... I guess that's enough for one day.  
Bye~!

Rebecca: See ya later! Happy hyping!


End file.
